Published online Dec 16, 2014. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v2.i12.899
Revised: August 29, 2014
Accepted: October 14, 2014
Published online: December 16, 2014
Non-salvageable extremities have been utilized for harvesting fillet flaps as part of the “spare parts” concept in traumatic and oncologic settings. Here we report on the use of a pedicled fillet flap of the upper arm for chest wall reconstruction after excision of a malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor in a patient with neurofibromatosis. Pedicled flaps as part of the “spare parts” concept provide the advantage of reduced donor-site morbidity, immediate closure, intact vasculature, and adequate soft tissue coverage of large defects. Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor is a rare aggressive tumor with a poor prognosis that may result in large defects post resection. Limited data describes the use of pedicled fillet flaps of the upper extremity. We report the use of a pedicled fillet flap of the upper arm as a viable option that can be successfully used for coverage of soft tissue defects of the shoulder and chest wall post complex resections in an oncologic setting.
Core tip: Here we present a rare case on the use of a pedicled fillet flap of the upper arm for chest wall reconstruction after excision of a malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor in a patient with neurofibromatosis. This case report describes a reconstructive procedure that is rarely described in the literature as a viable option for soft tissue coverage of shoulder and chest wall defects after an oncologic resection.