Congenital defects of the sternum are rare and due to a failure of midline development and fusion of the sternal bones. Surgical correction of a sternal cleft should be preferred during infancy for functional reasons. Chest wall reconstruction represented a complex problem in the last decades. We report our successful outcome of sternal reconstruction in a rare case of PHACES syndrome, in which the patient was submitted to reconstruction of the sternum and complete closure of the thoracic defect by the employ of an extracellular matrix XCM Biologic tissue matrix. We promote the use of extracellular matrix in surgical reconstruction of chest defects for its maneuverability, plasticity, tolerability and the possibility of growing with the children's chest getting a good compliance and optimal cosmetic results.
Keywords: Midline development defects; Phaces syndrome; Sternal reconstruction.