Objective To evaluate the application value of repairing the defects of the chest wall with the thoracico-abdominal skin flap and the muscle flap of the musculus rectus abdominis. Methods From January 2002 to June 2005, five patients with defects in the chest wall underwent the prothesis with the thoracico-abdominal skin flap and the muscle flap of the musculus rectus abdominis under general anesthesia. Focal cleaning was performed first; then, the skin flap was designed and taken (15 cm ×10 cm); and finally, the defects of the chest wall were repaired with the muscle flap of the musculus rectus abdominis. Results Of the 5patients, 4 had the flap healing by the first intention, and 1 had the delayed healing, with no complication. The skin flap had a good appearance, without edema orpigmentation. The X-ray examination showed that the shadow of the sternal sequestrum disappeared. There was no recurrence or complication during the follow-upfor 1-3 years (average, 18 mon). Conclusion The repairing of the defects in the chest wall with the thoracico-abdominal skin flap and the muscle flap of the musculus rectus abdominis is a simple and effective surgical treatment for defects of the chest wall around the sternum, and this kind of treatment is worth applying extensively in clinical practice.
ObjectiveTo investigate pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of crush syndrome of chest and arm.MethodsBetween January 2010 and January 2015, 5 cases of crush syndrome of chest and arm caused by pressing oneself in a coma after CO poisoning or alcoholic intoxication were treated. There were 4 males and 1 female with an average age of 36.7 years (range, 28-46 years). Two patients involved left upper limb and chest, while the other three patients involved right upper limb and chest. The crushed time ranged from 4 to 12 hours (mean, 7 hours). All 5 cases received emergency decompression and vacuum sealing drainage (VSD). After surgery, the patients were transferred to Intensive Care Unit to receive continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT). The wounds were repaired with skin grafts after the patients’ condition were stable.ResultsThe hospitalization time was 26-48 days (mean, 33 days). Necrosis of the skin graft occurred in 1 case, which cured after debridement and skin graft again. The skin graft survived in the other cases and the wounds healed by first intension. Five patients were followed up 12-18 months (mean, 15 months). At last follow-up, the results were excellent in all 5 cases according to the assessment criteria proposed by GU Yudong. The patients got full recovery of their upper limb activities and sensation. All the patients returned to the normal life and work.ConclusionCO poisoning, drunkenness, and pressing oneself together will lead the crush syndrome to severe and rapid progress. The key of the treatment is a comprehensive therapy including a thorough and rapid tension reduction to save the limb function, CRRT, and correction of anemia and electrolyte imbalance.
Objective To investigate the safety and efficacy of preoperative ultra-short-course chemotherapy combined with surgical treatment of chest wall tuberculosis. Methods The clinical data of 216 patients with chest wall tuberculosis from January 2013 to June 2016 in our hospital were retrospectively analyzed, including 121 males and 95 females with an average age of 35±15 years (range, 4-74 years). Results All patients were treated with anti-tuberculosis drugs for 17.0±11.3 days preoperatively, including 12.5±5.0 days in simple chest wall tuberculosis and 19.4±12.3 days in combined chest wall tuberculosis. The postoperative recurrence rate of chest wall tuberculosis was 3.7%, which was close to or lower than that of routine preoperative antituberculous therapy in patients with ultra-short-course anti-tuberculosis treatment before surgery. Conclusion Preoperative ultra-short-course chemotherapy combined with surgical treatment for chest wall tuberculosis will not increase the recurrence rate of chest wall tuberculosis, and can effectively shorten the hospital stay. Timely adjustment of anti-tuberculosis chemotherapy based on thorough debridement, postoperative drugs, not the preoperative drugs, is the key to reinforce the surgical outcome.
Objective To investigate the current development status of chest wall surgery at all levels of hospitals in Sichuan Province, as well as to provide evidence for the promotion of chest wall surgery. Methods We conducted a questionnaire study to investigate chest wall surgery at all levels of hospitals in Sichuan Province and to collect suggestions for chest wall surgery development from thoracic surgeons attending the meeting of the Sichuan International Medical Exchange & Promotion Association from September 2021 to January 2022. Results A total of 128 questionnaires were issued, with 97 (75.8%) of them being valid. According to the survey results, hospitals with grade A secondary or higher in Sichuan Province performed chest wall surgery. Chest wall surgery accounted for 14.3% of thoracic surgery, with 70.4% being chest wall trauma surgeries, 11.6% being chest wall tumor surgeries, 10.5% being chest wall infection surgeries, and 7.5% being chest wall deformity surgeries. Chest wall surgery accounted for 9.3% of thoracic surgery in the grade A tertiary hospitals, primarily for chest wall trauma and tumor; 23.1% in grade B tertiary hospitals, primarily for chest wall trauma and tumor; and 50.7% in grade A secondary hospitals, primarily for chest wall trauma and infection. Totally 96.9% of hospitals supported the establishment of a subspecialty in chest wall surgery. Suggestions for advancing chest wall surgery included: enhancing communication and cooperation (e.g. holding academic conferences, training courses), the establishment of the chest wall surgery association or consortium, and the formulation of regulations and guidelines or consensus, etc. Conclusion Chest wall surgery has been performed at all levels of hospitals in Sichuan Province. The relevant guidelines can be made based on the related academic associations, thus boosting the development of chest wall surgery in the future.
Because of the characteristics such as accurate, efficient and individuation, 3D printing is being widely applied to manufacturing industry, and being gradually expanded into the medical field. Diseases of chest wall is a common type in thoracic surgery, and surgery is a proper treatment to this kind of disease. For the past few years, 3D printing is being gradually applied in surgery of chest wall diseases. The article mainly makes a statement of two parts that including the possibility to apply 3D printing including chest wall reconstruction and chest wall orthopedic, and to analyze the possibility and application prospect of applying 3D printing to the chest wall disease.
Objectives To systematically review the efficacy of conservative treatment and open reduction with internal fixation for multiple rib fractures. Methods We searched WanFang Data, CNKI, VIP, PubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library and Web of Science from inception to December 2017 to collect studies on conservative treatment and open reduction with internal fixation for multiple rib fractures. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data, and assessed the risk of bias of included studies. RevMan 5.3 software was used for meta-analysis. Results A total of 16 studies were included, involving 1 374 patients, 723 patients in the surgical group and 651 patients in the conservative group. The meta-analysis showed that the length of stay in the ICU (MD=–3.41, 95%CI –4.92 to –2.43, P<0.000 01), total length of stay (MD=–7.60, 95 %CI–10.67 to–4.53,P<0.000 01), incidence of pulmonary arylene (RR=0.40, 95%CI 0.29 to 0.54,P<0.000 01), incidence of lung infections (RR=0.43, 95%CI 0.30 to 0.61,P<0.000 01), and incidence of chest wall malformation (RR=0.05, 95%CI 0.03 to 0.11,P<0. 0.000 01) in the surgical group were superior to the conservative group. Conclusions Compared with conservative treatment, open reduction with internal fixation can significantly improve the recovery time of patients with multiple rib fractures, reduce hospitalization time, the incidence of perioperative complications, and significantly enhance the prognosis of patients, which is more conducive to the rehabilitation of patients.