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Clear cell sarcoma is a rare malignant soft tissue neoplasm that usually arises adjacent to tendons or aponeuroses. The principal sites of this neoplasm are the extremities, but tumors do occur in the trunk on rare occasions. A case had a checkup for chest bachache with a 21-year-old woman, and it was diagnosed as the right chest wall tumor. We performed the en bloc resection of parts of the 7th and 8th ribs. Composix mesh was fixed to cover a deficit in the chest wall. The pathological diagnosis was clear cell sarcoma of the chest wall. The postoperative course was uneventful. She has shown no symptoms or signs of recurrence during 14 months of follow-up.

Alveolar air leakage after pulmonary resection usually heals with adequate pleural drainage, but must be more actively treated if leakage may be severe. If left untreated, the postresection space can lead to empyema. We used a muscle flap to prevent alveolar air leakage from a large sectional plane of the lung resected because of metastases in the lung and chest wall. A 48-year-old man complained of pain and a mass on the right side of his back. He had undergone resection and chemotherapy for clear cell sarcoma that originated on the back of the left hand when 43 years of age, wedge resection of the right lower lobe of the lung for a metastatic pulmonary tumor at 46 years, and lobectomy of the same lobe for a recurrence of the metastatic pulmonary tumor at 47 years. The diagnosis was of a metastatic tumor to the right chest wall with peripheral pulmonary tumors of the right upper and middle lobes. Resection of the chest wall and the lung including the tumors was done. Much air leakage from the extensive sectional plane of the right upper and middle lobes was seen intraoperatively, and this plane was therefore covered with a flap of the musculus latissimus dorsi. Chest tubes were removed on day 7 postoperatively when air leakage was no longer seen. Subcutaneous emphysema, which appeared on day 14 postoperatively, required redrainage of the pleural air space, but pleurodesis was effective. Use of a muscle flap was simple and effective for covering of a sectional plane of the lung, and should be considered when alveolar air leakage may be extensive.