Asian Cardiovasc Thorac Ann 2006;14:359-362
© 2006 Asia Publishing EXchange Ltd
Desmoid Tumors of the Chest Wall
Charalambos Zisis, PhD,
Apostolos Dountsis, MD,
Athanasios Nikolaides, MD1,
Jubrail Dahabreh, FETCS
Department of Thoracic Surgery
1 Department of Anesthesiology, Athens Medical Center, Athens, Greece
For reprint information contact: Charalambos Zisis, MD Tel: 30 210 965 1639 Fax: 30 210 722 4449 Email: chzisis{at}otenet.gr, 17A, Patriarchou Grigoriou str, Glyfada 166 74, Greece.
Chest wall desmoid tumors (DT) are rare pathologic entities with microscopic features similar to, or undistinguishable from, fibromas or fibrosarcomas. From 1996 to 2001, four patients with DT were surgically managed in our department. Their ages ranged from 27 years to 43 years (mean 32.25 years, median 29.5 years). A resection of the lesion was performed with negative margins of 4 cm around the tumor (wide resection). A reconstruction of the chest wall was also performed with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) in 2 patients and methylmethacrolate with Marlex mesh in 1 patient. One patient had a recurrence 15 months later, and was admitted for complementary resection, and remains disease-free for 5 years. The rest 3 patients are disease-free for 6 months to 5 years. Resection must include all adjacent, overlying and underlying musculature as well as soft tissues and any spare skin from the procedure should be used. Prognosis after a wide resection is good.
Copyright © 2006 by the Asia Publishing EXchange Ltd.
