Mechanical behavior of a total chest wall prosthesis with rib-like features.

The Department of Thoracic Surgery of the National Institute of Cancer in Milan developed a new rib-cage prosthesis which tries to combine flexibility, protection and bio-compatibility. This new replacement concept has been implanted in many patients, showing cheering results in term of reconstructions simplicity, postoperative complications reduction and patients comfort. This paper investigates and discusses in detail the mechanical behavior of the innovative rib cage prosthesis. Mechanical strength and stiffness are numerically evaluated in order to asses its limits and if it is fully compatible with patients 'normal' life.