Reconstruction of anterior chest wall with titanium plate and mesh: a report of 13 cases with manubrium tumor resection

Objective To investigate the effect and quality of life after anterior chest wall reconstruction with titanium plate and mesh due to manubrium tumor resection. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed from January 2012 to December 2016, a total of 13 patients with primary(11cases) or secondary(2 cases) manubrium tumor, aged 41-72 years(medium aged as 56), underwent oncological resection, following by immediate chest wall reconstruction with titanium plate and titanium mesh. The quality of life was evaluated by EuroQol five dimensions questionnaire (EQ-5D) and EQ-5D visual analogue scale (ED-VAS) before and 3 months after operation. Computed tomographic scan was taken 3 months after operation. Results All the patients received successful operation. During the perioperative period, 12 cases recovered well without any complications, 1 patient experienced mild paradoxical movement within 9 days after operation and then recovered. The median follow-up period after surgery was 25 months (range from 7 to 41). Computed tomographic scans for the 13 patients showed neither dislocation nor deformation of the titanium plate and mesh 3 months after operation. One patient with chondrosarcoma died as a result of relapse 11 months after surgery. In pain/discomfort dimension, the pre-operation score was 1.85±0.80 and the post-operation score was 1.15±0.38, showing a significant difference(P=0.013). There was no significant difference in scores of other four dimensions between pre- and post-operation(P>0.05). The total score of EQ-5D decreased significantly after the operation (7.08±2.02 vs 5.45±0.52, P=0.010). The pre- and post-operation ED-VAS score was 85.69±7.58 and 92.54±2.53, with a significant difference(P=0.008). Conclusions The immediate reconstruction of chest wall with titanium plate and mesh after oncological manubrium resection is effective and safe with improvement of the quality of life. Key words: Internal fixators; Manubrium; Thoracic wall; Quality of life