Limb Salvage and Prosthetic Joint Reconstruction for Low-grade and Selected High-grade Sarcomas of Bone after Wide Resection and Replacement by Authoclaved Autogeneic Grafts

Abstract

Wide resection is an acceptable alternative to amputation for the management of primary sarcomas of the long bones or pelvis. The resected bone can be debrided of gross tumor tissue, autoclaved, and then replaced over intramedullary fixation to reconstruct the limb anatomically. The procedure can be combined with prosthetic reconstruction of adjacent joints with sufficient strength to allow early unprotected weight-bearing. Resection and replacement for 28 low-grade (G1) and 14 selected high-grade (G2) sarcomas were performed in 42 patients. The hemipelvis was resected and replaced four times, the proximal or distal femur 28 times, the proximal or distal tibia eight times, and the proximal humerus two times. Replacement of an adjacent joint, most commonly using a long-stemmed hip or knee prosthesis, was accomplished in 33 patients. All patients had been followed for a minimum of two years, nine months after treatment. The mean follow-up period is four years, ten months. Six individuals, all with high-grade sarcomas, developed tumor-related complications. Two evidenced a local recurrence of tumor, and four developed distant metastases. None of the patients with low-grade sarcomas developed a recurrence or metastases. Fifteen patients suffered complications unrelated to tumor control; 13 required reoperation, including two who required amputations for persistent pseudoarthrosis and graft infection, respectively. There was one other infection, successfully eradicated by drainage followed by local and systemic antibiotics. Due to mechanical failure or loosening, six patients were treated by successful revision of their joint arthroplasties. Two years after initial surgery, five patients had failures of union at the graft-host junction. Four healed after cancellous grafting and one was revised to a custom prosthesis. There were no late fatigue fractures of the grafts. The technique does not compromise the margins for adequate tumor resection. It preserves a graft strong enough to support a joint arthroplasty and to allow early weight-bearing with a low risk of pseudarthrosis or late fatigue fracture.