Surgical treatment of abdominal wall tumor seeding after percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage

Occasional cases of malignant seeding of cancer cells along the catheter tract, particularly affecting the skin, have been reported after percutaneous biliary drainage. Although radical resection of the abdominal wall may achieve long-term postoperative survival, reconstruction of large abdominal defects that cannot be closed primarily is problematic. We describe the successful surgical repair of a full-thickness defect of the abdominal wall using a free tensor fascia lata musculofasciocutaneous flap anastomosed to the intraabdominal gastroepiploic vessels.