My wife beat breast cancer and has a problem healing her chest opening

@glen38: Firstly, may I welcome you to Mayo Connect. It must be a huge relief to know your wife has conquered breast cancer, but the wound healing issues must be very disheartening and discouraging.

While radiation can kill cancer cells by attacking their DNA, as you know, other tissues are frequently damaged in the process. I see you're looking for answers from a qualified professional and I must underscore that in the forums here support and guidance are generally provided by other patients and caregivers. Mentors, such as myself, tend to have been contributors ourselves and have objectively shared our own health experiences and insights. Some of us do have medical and/or behavioral health backgrounds; we all strive to keep posts helpful and factual; everything is overseen by moderators. So - I'm not sure if you were directing your inquiry specifically toward a wound care professional per se but we can offer some guidance in these forums.

I can tell you that from my own past experience in the field of health care and disability, there ways of generating tissue from donor tissue, referred to as allografts and usually obtained via cadaver or even animals - although these are usually temporary in nature. Autografts, obtained from the individual themselves, may be used if certain criteria is met that would assist in making the graft successful. In both of these situations, the chance of infection, rejection or lack of ability to grow on the site would need to be considered due to the potential damage of blood vessels in the area from the radiation. This is because in order for a tissue to grow, proper blood flow is vital. Therefore, if it has been determined that there is compromised blood flow that would impede the success - or even contribute to complications - of a skin graft, it would be likely deemed too risky to attempt.

Please note this is a general and simplified response, and cannot be determined to reflect accurately for the particular case you're inquiring about. It's a broad overview and one you can certainly inquire more about from a member of your wife's care team. Does this explanation give a bit of a foundation? Or perhaps provide you with some specific questions you could ask?