[The latissimus flap (myocutaneous flap). Experiences after 35 operations for repair of thoracic defects].

We used the latissimus flap (myocutaneous flap) for the first time in July 1974 for closing defects of the thoracic wall. We published the first results at the beginning of 1976 [6]. In the meantime we have used this method in 40 patients with good success. We report here the results in 35 patients with critical assessment. Many other authors have in the meantime reported on the successful use of this flap [1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10].