[Plastic surgery of defects of the thoracic wall].

Defects of the thoracic wall are mostly due to a malignant disease of the mammary gland. Radiotherapy is one of the essential methods of treating cancer of the breast in addition to primary surgery. If, after surgery, healing occurs by secondary intention or if there is a local recurrence or tumour formation in the thoracic wall due to irradiation, the body's reserves of soft parts are often exhausted and the adjacent tissue has been additionally damaged by the irradiation. General principles of treatment in the management of such problems are presented by means of several case reports.