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The transverse musculocutaneous gracilis flap for chest wall reconstruction in male patients with Poland's syndrome
Author(s) -
Wechselberger Gottfried,
Hladik Michaela,
Reichl Heike,
Ensat Florian,
Edelbauer Monika,
Haug Daniel,
Schoeller Thomas
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
microsurgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.031
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1098-2752
pISSN - 0738-1085
DOI - 10.1002/micr.22078
Subject(s) - medicine , poland syndrome , surgery , pectoralis major muscle , thoracic wall , soft tissue , deformity , latissimus dorsi muscle , pectoralis muscle , upper limb , plastic surgery , anatomy
Poland's syndrome represents a congenital unilateral deformity of the breast, chest wall, and upper limb with extremely variable manifestations. In most cases, the problem is mainly cosmetic, and the reconstruction of the chest wall should use a method designed to be performed easily and to achieve minimal scarring and donor site morbidity. We describe using a transverse musculocutaneous gracilis (TMG) flap for chest wall and anterior maxillary fold reconstruction in three male patients. In two patients, only the pectoralis major muscle was missing. In the third case, the ipsilateral latissimus dorsi muscle was also absent. The indication for surgical treatment was purely cosmetic. In all patients, a free TMG flap was performed to reconstruct the anterior axillary fold and the soft tissue defect. There was no flap loss, and all three patients had a clearly improved appearance of the chest wall. In this article, we demonstrate our experience with the use of a TMG flap for chest wall reconstruction in male patients with Poland's syndrome. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microsurgery, 2013.