CASE REPORT article
Front. Oncol.
Sec. Gastrointestinal Cancers: Colorectal Cancer
This article is part of the Research TopicRecent Advancements and New Developments in Reconstructive SurgeryView all 13 articles
Reconstruction of a Massive Abdominal Wall Defect After Colon Cancer Surgery Using Bilateral Thoracoabdominal Flaps and a Rectus Abdominis Myocutaneous Flap: A Case Report
Provisionally accepted
- First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
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A 35-year-old woman presented with a local recurrence at the stoma site three months after Hartmann's procedure for sigmoid colon cancer. In the subsequent months, the tumor exhibited rapid progression, with direct invasion into the abdominal wall. Her clinical course was characterized by persistent pain, fever, foul odor, and defecation disorder. The substantial disease burden confined her to bed, leaving her unable to care for her two young children. Following a multidisciplinary team (MDT) evaluation, she was deemed a candidate for reoperative surgery. The procedure comprised en bloc resection of the recurrent tumor, followed by restoration of bowel continuity with a primary colorectal anastomosis and immediate abdominal wall reconstruction. The patient's postoperative recovery was uneventful, with a marked improvement in quality of life. This case highlights the critical role of flap-based reconstruction in managing complex abdominal wall defects.
Keywords: Colon Cancer, tumor recurrence, Abdominal wall reconstruction, Vertical rectus abdominis myocutaneous flap, V-Y advancement flap, Mesh
Received: 03 Oct 2025; Accepted: 29 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Li, Zhang, Gao, Wang, Zhang, Wang, Zhang and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Gangcheng Wang, gangcheng07@hotmail.com
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