The painless combination of anatomically contoured titanium plates and porcine dermal collagen patch for chest wall reconstruction

Background: A plethora of new biomaterials and dedicated rib fixator implant systems have been introduced into the field of chest wall reconstruction. The aim of our study is to evaluate the surgical outcomes of a novel combination of the anatomically contoured titanium rib implant and porcine dermal collagen patch for chest wall reconstruction. Methods: We performed a retrospective review of eight consecutive patients who underwent chest wall resection and reconstruction between January 2014 to August 2015 in a single institution. MatrixRib Fixation System and Permacol Surgical Implant were utilized to achieve chest wall reconstruction. Results: The indication for reconstruction was malignant infiltration in 50% of patients. Three other subjects (37.5%) had chest wall resections to achieve adequate and safe surgical exposure. One patient had a right lung apical mycetoma with chest wall invasion. All patients underwent lung resections with the removal of 2 to 6 (median 3) ribs. Reconstruction was performed using the MatrixRib system, with a median of 2.5 (range, 2-4) ribs fixed in each patient. There was no post-operative mortality. One patient had a superficial wound infection which resolved with one week of oral antibiotics. Upon discharge, the pain scores were near zero with minimal analgesic requirements. None of the patients required repeat surgery or removal of their implants. Conclusions: Our early experience indicates that the combination of the MatrixRib system and Permacol patch for chest wall reconstruction is safe and feasible with promising results in terms of anatomical restoration of the chest wall mechanics, infection and pain.