Ten-Year Experience of Chest Wall Reconstruction: Retrospective Review of a Titanium Plate MatrixRIB™ System

Chest wall tumor resection can result in a large defect that can pose a challenge in reconstruction in restoring chest wall contour, maintaining respiratory mechanics, and improving cosmesis. Titanium plates were first introduced for treating a traumatic flail chest, which yielded promising results in restoring chest wall stability. Subsequently, the applications of titanium plates in chest wall reconstruction surgery were demonstrated in case reports and series. Our center has adopted this technique for a decade, and patients are actively followed up after operation. Here, we retrospectively analyze our 10-year experience of using titanium plates and other reconstruction approaches for chest wall reconstruction, in terms of clinical outcomes, complications, and reasons for reoperation to determine long-term safety and efficacy. Thirty-eight patients who underwent chest wall resection and reconstruction surgery were identified. Of these, 11 had titanium plate insertion, 11 had patch repair or flap reconstruction, and the remaining 16 had primary closure of defects. Chest wall reconstruction using titanium plate(s) and patch repair (with or without flap reconstruction) was associated with larger chest wall defects and more sternal resections than primary closure. Subgroup analysis also showed that reconstruction by the titanium plate technique was associated with larger chest wall defects than patch repair or flap reconstruction [286.80 cm(2) vs. 140.91 cm(2) (p = 0.083)]. There was no 30-day hospital mortality. Post-operative arrhythmia was more commonly seen following chest wall reconstruction compared with primary closure (p = 0.041). Furthermore, more wound infections were detected following the use of titanium plate reconstruction compared with the patch repair (with or without flap reconstruction) approach (p = 0.027). In conclusion, the titanium plate system is a safe, effective, and robust approach for chest wall reconstruction surgery, especially in tackling larger defect sizes.