Titanium Rib Plate Technique for Huge Chest Wall Reconstruction

Chest wall reconstruction after en-bloc tumor resection is very important to preserve functional mobility and to enhance the cosmetic effect. Because they are flexible and pliable, titanium plates are proposed to reconstruct the chest wall, even though such chest wall reconstruction has been performed in only a few cases worldwide. We present a case of a 49-year-old man with a chondrosarcoma arising from the left 1 rib, invading the manubrium, clavicle, 2 and 3 ribs, and the anterior segment of the left upper lobe. After wide resection, the chest wall was reconstructed using titanium rib plates and Marlex mesh—the Bovine pericardium sandwich type. The patient tolerated the pain well, and fourteen months after surgery, the chest wall was well preserved function mobility and improved pulmonary function test.