Combination of Solid and Porous Nitinol Implants in Surgical Treatment of Extensive Post-Excision Thoracic Defects in Cancer Patients

Radical surgical intervention for chest wall tumors is typically accompanied by the lesion of osteochondral structures and the appearance of complex post-resection defects, which result in functional and aesthetic impairment. After extensive resection of the chest wall, it is vitally important that it be simultaneously repaired, including restoring the osteochondral framework and the integrity of the integumentary tissues as well as maintaining the anatomical and physiological volume of the mediastinum and the pleural cavities. Porous and solid Nitinol implants and their successful deployment in surgical treatments have encouraged insights for immediate and delayed osteoplasty in cancer patients. The novel aspect of this work consists in this surgical method of post-excision defect repair is performed using a proprietary approach and customized NiTi-based implants. The results indicate that the suggested surgical approach and tactics using one-step repair are one of the promising techniques even though the case is aggravated with extensive chest wall lesions. The approach can be performed safely and can be recommended as a routine procedure with a high success rate. Combined Nitinol implants seem to be very good reinforcing biomaterials that enabled the reliable repair of thoracic post-excisional defects of various sizes with good functional, clinical, and cosmetic outcomes.