Immediate repair of major abdominal wall defect after extensive tumor excision in patients with abdominal wall neoplasm: a retrospective review of 27 cases [corrected].
BACKGROUND
The treatment of abdominal wall neoplasm continues to present a challenging problem because it is not easy to repair the giant defect which is resulted from extensive tumor excision. Some techniques and materials have been reported, but most report a certain technique or material for abdominal wall reconstruction. Therefore, we retrospectively reviewed the treatment of such patients in our department and assessed the reconstruction algorithm in such a situation.


METHODS
We studied 27 patients undergoing immediate abdominal wall reconstruction between 1999 and 2008 who sought care for major defects after extensive tumor excision of malignancy. We categorized the defects into three types: type I, defects involving only the loss of skin (15 cases); type II, myofascial defects with intact skin coverage (6 cases); and type III, myofascial defects without skin coverage (6 cases). Different techniques and materials were used. Postoperative morbidities, sign of herniation, and other follow-up data were recorded.


RESULTS
The immediate abdominal wall reconstruction was successful in all patients. There was no severe morbidity after the operation. Only one patient developed hernia.


CONCLUSIONS
Most type I defects can be corrected with primary suture. For type II defects, a prosthetic or biological mesh, or alternatively an autologous fascial substitute, may be used. For type III defects, the resulting full-thickness defect will require a myocutaneous flap, such as the tensor fascia lata flap, with or without a mesh for abdominal wall reconstruction. Human acellular dermal matrix, a biological mesh, is an ideal alternative for synthetic mesh, especially in situations of infection or contamination.
Tang
Rui
R
Department of General Surgery, Hernia and Abdominal Wall Surgery Center of Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University, School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Gu
Yan
Y
Gong
Ding-Quan
DQ
Qian
Yun-Liang
YL
D000008:Abdominal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D034861:Abdominal Wall / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016038:Skin Transplantation; D013524:Surgical Flaps; D013526:Surgical Mesh; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult