Intramedullary nail combined with auxiliary plate and bone cement in treatment of pathologic fracture of extremities caused by metastatic tumors

Abstract

To explore the application of intramedullary nail fixation combined with auxiliary plate and bone cement in the palliative treatment of pathologic fracture of extremities caused by metastatic tumors. Clinical data of 11 cases with pathologic fracture of extremities caused by metastatic tumors between April 2015 and October 2016 were retrospectively analyzed. All the patients were treated by intramedullary nail fixation combined with auxiliary plate and bone cement. There were 6 males and 5 females with an age of 54-72 years (mean, 62.9 years). The disease duration was 1.0-1.5 months. Of the 11 patients, 4 metastatic tumors were diagnosed at humerus, 6 at femur, and 1 at tibia, respectively. And the tumor infiltration length ranged from 3.3 to 5.6 cm (mean, 4.6 cm), the depth could reach the bilayer of limb bones. All the patients had suffered the limbs pain and incapability of physical movement. The preoperative visual analogue scale (VAS) score was 6.36±1.03, and the Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) score was 42.73±10.09. The operation time, intraoperative blood loss, and postoperative complications were recorded. The VAS score, KPS score, and Musculoskeletal Tumor Society (MSTS) score were used to evaluate the effectiveness at 3 months after operation. The operation time was 1.1-1.8 hours (mean, 1.5 hours), the intraoperative blood loss was 102.5-211.3 mL (mean, 135.6 mL). Postoperative limb incisions healed well without infection, necrosis, and delayed healing or other complications. All the patients were followed up 7-10 months (mean, 8.2 months). At 3 months after operation, the functions of limbs recovered. The VAS score decreased to 0.82±0.75 and the KPS score increased to 85.45±5.22, both showing significant difference when compared with preoperative ones ( t=35.218, P=0.000; t=-18.470, P=0.000); and the MSTS score was 23.91±2.47. At last follow-up, the anteroposterior and lateral X-ray films showed that all the limbs healing well and no breakage of intramedullary nail and steel plate, or loosening in bone cement, limb shortening, malalignment, or other complications occurred. In treating metastatic tumors of extremities, the combination of intramedullary nail fixation with auxiliary plate and bone cement will contribute to an invariable length and fixed location for limbs, resulting in biomechanical stability for skeleton. Under this premise, the tumor lesions can be eliminated and pathological pains be relieved, so as to improve patients' life quality.