11.  How do you treat the irradiated chest wall?

Answer:

Problems:

1) indistinct borders of injury
2) limited reconstructive options because of necrosis in the recipient bed and damaged blood vessels in potential donor areas
3) irradiated areas are prone to infection
4) synthetic materials tend to fail

Treatment guidelines:

1) aggressive debridement of all infected and ischemic tissue
2) well vascularized muscle flap coverage without prosthetic mesh if possible

Options include:

1) latissimus dorsi with or without skin
2) TRAM
3) pectoralis major
4) pedicled omentum
5) laterally based random chest flaps

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