Closure of a Rib Wall Resection without Diaphragmatic Advancement

This chapter describes the patient positioning and the procedure for closure of rib wall resection without diaphragmatic advancement for thoracic wall neoplasia in the dog. The dog is placed in lateral recumbency with the font leg pulled forward. The subcutaneous tissues are bluntly dissected and the cutaneous trunci muscle is transected or resected to expose the latissimus dorsi muscle covering the dorsal part of the incision. The intercostal muscles of the proposed intercostal spaces cranial and caudal to the mass are elevated with a forceps and are transected in the middle of the intercostal space, taking care to avoid the intercostal artery and nerve at the caudal aspect of the ribs. Intercostal nerve blocks are placed for each rib to be transected. The ribs are transected dorsally and ventrally, and the segment is lifted away from the thorax. The chapter also presents an alternate positioning and approaches for closure of rib wall resection.