A rotationplasty is a unique surgical procedure used to reconstruct after resection of a tumor of the leg or a congenital defect. This procedure avoids phantom pain, limb length discrepancy and infections or implant related complications. The outcome is unusual for cosmesis but very functional. Background: Borggreve first described a rotationplasty in Germany in 1930 for a 12 year old patient whose knee was destroyed by tuberculosis. In 1950 Van Nes modified the procedure. Kotz and Saltzer described in 1982 the use of a modified version of a rotationplasty to treat malignant tumors of the distal femur. Case studies of two such patients will be presented. A 27 year old man had a non-metastic osteosarcoma of his distal femur at the age of five. He underwent chemotherapy and a rotationplasty. Six years after his operation a correction osteotomy was done. He is doing very well physically and mentally. He graduated business studies, went yearly on Alpine skiing on two legs, likes jogging and perceives no limitations in his life (MSTS, TESS, SF-36). A 24 year old man, 14 years after a Ewing-sarcoma of his hip. He underwent chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Thirteen years later he had a pathological fracture after playing soccer. He was treated with a total hip prosthesis without screening the malignancy. However the pathology of the specimen showed a postradiation sarcoma. He underwent a modified Van Nes rotationplasty (knee for hip and ankle for knee). Although is said that rotationplasty had a poor cosmesis and poor psychosocial acceptance, this is not our experience

Above-knee amputation has been the traditional treatment for osteosarcoma of the proximal tibia. Recent advances in chemotherapy have encouraged the development of limb-salvage techniques. Van Nes rotationplasty for malignant lesions of the distal femur has increased in popularity as a reconstructive technique, but no similar procedure has been described for lesions of the proximal tibia. We have developed a modified rotationplasty for this lesion and have performed it in four children. The surgical technique, postoperative management and results of the procedure are described. Two patients had delayed wound healing. No other complications have developed and our patients were disease-free at follow-up, while the appearance of the leg was well accepted by the patients and their parents. This procedure is a useful addition to the armamentarium of the tumour surgeon for the treatment of malignant lesions of the proximal tibia

Van Nes rotationplasty may be used for patients with congenital proximal focal femoral deficiency (PFFD). The lower limb is rotated to use the ankle and foot as a functional knee joint within a prosthesis. A small series of cases was investigated to determine the long-term outcome. At a mean of 21.5 years (11 to 45) after their rotationplasty, a total of 12 prosthetic patients completed the Short-Form (SF)-36, Faces Pain Scale-Revised, Harris hip score, Oswestry back pain score and Prosthetic Evaluation Questionnaires, as did 12 age- and gender-matched normal control participants. A physical examination and gait analysis, computerised dynamic posturography (CDP), and timed ‘Up & Go’ testing was also completed. Wilcoxon Signed rank test was used to compare each PFFD patient with a matched control participant with false discovery rate of 5%. There were no differences between the groups in overall health and well-being on the SF-36. Significant differences were seen in gait parameters in the PFFD group. Using CDP, the PFFD group had reduced symmetry in stance, and reduced end point and maximum excursions. Patients who had undergone Van Nes rotationplasty had a high level of function and quality of life at long-term follow-up, but presented with significant differences in gait and posture compared with the control group. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2013;95-B:192–8

The April 2013 Children’s orthopaedics Roundup³⁶⁰ looks at: improving stress distribution in dysplastic hips; the dangers of fashion; the natural history of supracondylar fractures; ankles that perform well as knees; intra-articular hip pathology at osteotomy; the safe removal of flexible nails; supracondylar fracture fixation; and talipes.