Use of prosthetic materials in chest-wall reconstruction. Assets and liabilities.

Sparked by the experience during war time, our knowledge of how to handle chest-wall defects has matured with the decades since the 1940s. Techniques are now available for reconstruction of large areas of the chest wall. The materials are readily available and can be adapted to fit any size and shape of defect. The disadvantages are few and correctable. This technique has been used to restore chest continuity in patients whose tumors were resected for cure. It has also been used palliatively for patients with bleeding, ulcerative, or infected tumors of the chest wall and in those with known metastases elsewhere. Removing the malodorous mass from the chest wall provides excellent palliation and should be offered to patients to improve their quality of survival.