[INTRODUCTION - Approximately 30% of malignant, primary bone tumours are chondrosarcomas, which most frequently develop on the anterior chest wall. Patients who are treated with adequate surgical intervention recover, 10-year survival rate is 97%. Besides the aesthetic outcome, preservation of breathing functions is crucial. CASE REPORT - The 36-years-old patient presented with a large chondrosarcoma, which infiltrated the left chest wall (4-6th ribs, the parietal pleura and the underlying muscles). Surgical resection was performed by opening the left thoracic cavity, sparing the skin and the subcutaneous layer. Reconstruction of the chest wall’s stability was carried out with a 20×25cm, polytetrafluoroethylene alloplastic Dualmesh, and an extensive myocutaneous dorsal flap (including the latissimus dorsi and serratus anterior muscles) that was pedicled on the left thoracodorsal vessels. After a normal postoperative period, the patient was released with sufficiently expanded lungs. No tumour remission was detected on the follow-up CT examination at 6 months after surgery. CONCLUSION - This case demonstrates that radical resection of chest-wall tumours and the above described reconstruction method allows the avoidance of paradoxial respiratory movements and provides excellent functional and aesthetic outcomes.]
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