Disease Introduction
Chest wall tumors are masses that grow on the bones and soft tissues of the chest wall, including primary bone tumors of the ribs and sternum (most commonly chondrosarcoma) and soft tissue sarcomas, as well as metastatic lesions that have invaded from the lungs, breasts, etc. In the early stages, they often present as a gradually enlarging chest wall mass, which may be accompanied by dull pain or no pain. The core of treatment is to extensively resect the tumor along with the affected ribs and sternum, and then use artificial materials and autologous muscle to reconstruct the chest wall. Emphasis is placed on negative surgical margins, radical resection, and equal importance for chest wall functional reconstruction.
Cutting-edge high-precision diagnostic and treatment technologies
- 3D Printing Reconstruction : Based on the patient's CT scan, 3D printed titanium alloy or PEEK rib prostheses are designed to accurately replicate the shape of the chest wall. In 2026, Tangdu Hospital used this method to repair large areas of chest wall bone defects.
- En bloc resection : The tumor is removed en bloc along with the affected ribs, sternum, pleura, and even part of the lung, at least 3 cm from the edge of the tumor. Intraoperative frozen section is used to ensure negative margins.
- Customized titanium prosthesis : For posterior chest wall defects, a 2026 literature report describes the use of customized dynamic titanium prostheses fixed to the vertebral body with screws for reconstruction, solving the problem of lack of anchor points in the posterior chest wall;
- Tissue flap repair : After bony reconstruction, the latissimus dorsi or pectoralis major myocutaneous flap with vascular pedicle or free fascia flap is used for coverage. In 2025, many hospitals successfully completed myocutaneous flap chest wall reconstruction.
- Multi-material combined reconstruction : After the resection of a giant chest wall tumor, titanium plates and meshes were used to fix the bony defects and patches were used to repair the pericardium and diaphragm. In 2025, the Wuhan team removed and reconstructed a 1.5 kg giant chest wall tumor.
