We evaluated the oncological and functional outcome
of 18 patients, whose malignant bone tumours were excised with the
assistance of navigation, and who were followed up for more than
three years. There were 11 men and seven women, with a mean age
of 31.8 years (10 to 57). There were ten operations on the pelvic
ring and eight joint-preserving limb salvage procedures. The resection
margins were free of tumour in all specimens. The tumours, which
were stage IIB in all patients, included osteosarcoma, high-grade
chondrosarcoma, Ewing’s sarcoma, malignant fibrous histiocytoma
of bone, and adamantinoma. The overall three-year survival rate
of the 18 patients was 88.9% (95% confidence interval (CI) 75.4
to 100). The three-year survival rate of the patients with pelvic malignancy
was 80.0% (95% CI 55.3 to 100), and of the patients with metaphyseal
malignancy was 100%. The event-free survival was 66.7% (95% CI 44.9
to 88.5). Local recurrence occurred in two patients, both of whom
had a pelvic malignancy. The mean Musculoskeletal Tumor Society
functional score was 26.9 points at a mean follow-up of 48.2 months
(22 to 79). We suggest that navigation can be helpful during surgery for
musculoskeletal tumours; it can maximise the accuracy of resection
and minimise the unnecessary sacrifice of normal tissue by providing
precise intra-operative three-dimensional radiological information.
The aim of this study was to define the treatment
criteria for patients with recurrent chondrosarcoma. We reviewed the
data of 77 patients to examine the influence of factors such as
the intention of treatment (curative/palliative), extent of surgery,
resection margins, status of disease at the time of local recurrence
and the grade of the tumour. A total of 70 patients underwent surgery
for recurrent chondrosarcoma. In seven patients surgery was not
a viable option. Metastatic disease occurred in 41 patients, appearing
synchronously with the local recurrence in 56% of cases. For patients
without metastasis at the time of local recurrence, the overall
survival at a mean follow-up after recurrence of 67 months (0 to
289) was 74% (5 of 27) compared with 19% (13 of 50) for patients
with metastasis at or before the development of the recurrence.
Neither the type/extent of surgery, site of tumour, nor the resection margins
for the recurrent tumour significantly influenced the overall survival. With limited survival for patients with metastatic disease at
the time of local recurrence (0% for patients with grade III and
de-differentiated chondrosarcoma), palliative treatment, including
local radiation therapy and debulking procedures, should be discussed
with the patients to avoid long hospitalisation and functional deficits. For
patients without metastasis at the time of local recurrence, the
overall survival of 74% justifies an aggressive approach including
wide resection margins and extensive reconstruction.
The June 2012 Oncology Roundup360 looks at: avoiding pelvic hemipelvectomy; proximal femoral metastasis; extendible prostheses; rotationplasty; soft-tissue sarcomas; osteosarcoma of the pelvis; recurrent chondrosarcoma ; MRI and the differentiation between benign and malignant lesions; and malignant fibrous histiocytoma.
Peri-acetabular tumour resections and their subsequent
reconstruction are among the most challenging procedures in orthopaedic
oncology. Despite the fact that a number of different pelvic endoprostheses
have been introduced, rates of complication remain high and long-term
results are mostly lacking. In this retrospective study, we aimed to evaluate the outcome
of reconstructing a peri-acetabular defect with a pedestal cup endoprosthesis
after a type 2 or type 2/3 internal hemipelvectomy. A total of 19 patients (11M:8F) with a mean age of 48 years (14
to 72) were included, most of whom had been treated for a primary
bone tumour (n = 16) between 2003 and 2009. After a mean follow-up
of 39 months (28 days to 8.7 years) seven patients had died. After
a mean follow-up of 7.9 years (4.3 to 10.5), 12 patients were alive,
of whom 11 were disease-free. Complications occurred in 15 patients.
Three had recurrent dislocations and three experienced aseptic loosening.
There were no mechanical failures. Infection occurred in nine patients,
six of whom required removal of the prosthesis. Two patients underwent
hindquarter amputation for local recurrence. The implant survival rate at five years was 50% for all reasons,
and 61% for non-oncological reasons. The mean Musculoskeletal Tumor
Society score at final follow-up was 49% (13 to 87). Based on these poor results, we advise caution if using the pedestal
cup for reconstruction of a peri-acetabular tumour resection. Cite this article:
The aim of this study was to evaluate the functional
and oncological outcome of extracorporeally irradiated autografts
used to reconstruct the pelvis after a P1/2 internal hemipelvectomy. The study included 18 patients with a primary malignant bone
tumour of the pelvis. There were 13 males and five females with
a mean age of 24.8 years (8 to 62). Of these, seven had an osteogenic
sarcoma, six a Ewing’s sarcoma, and five a chondrosarcoma. At a
mean follow-up of 51.6 months (4 to 185), nine patients had died
with metastatic disease while nine were free from disease. Local
recurrence occurred in three patients all of whom eventually died of
their disease. Deep infection occurred in three patients and required
removal of their graft in two while the third underwent a hindquarter
amputation for extensive flap necrosis. The mean Musculoskeletal Tumor Society functional score of the
16 patients who could be followed-up for at least 12 months was
77% (50 to 90). Those 15 patients who completed the Toronto Extremity
Salvage Score questionnaire had a mean score of 71% (53 to 85). Extracorporeal irradiation and re-implantation of bone is a valid
method of reconstruction after an internal hemipelvectomy. It has
an acceptable morbidity and a functional outcome that compares favourably
with other available reconstructive techniques. Cite this article:
We treated 98 patients with peri-acetabular tumours by resection and reconstruction with a custom-made pelvic endoprosthesis. The overall survival of the patients was 67% at five years, 54% at ten years and 51% at 30 years. One or more complications occurred in 58.1% of patients (54), of which infection was the most common, affecting 30% (28 patients). The rate of local recurrence was 31% (29 patients) after a mean follow-up of 71 months (11 to 147). Dislocation occurred in 20% of patients (19). Before 1996 the rate was 40.5% (17 patients) but this was reduced to 3.9% (two patients) with the introduction of a larger femoral head. There were six cases of palsy of the femoral nerve with recovery in only two. Revision or excision arthroplasty was performed in 23.7% of patients (22), principally for uncontrolled infection or aseptic loosening. Higher rates of death, infection and revision occurred in men. This method of treatment is still associated with high morbidity. Patients should be carefully selected and informed of this pre-operatively.
In Japan, osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip secondary
to acetabular dysplasia is very common, and there are few data concerning
the pathogeneses and incidence of femoroacetabular impingement (FAI).
We have attempted to clarify the radiological prevalence of painful
FAI in a cohort of Japanese patients and to investigate the radiological findings.
We identified 176 symptomatic patients (202 hips) with Tönnis grade
0 or 1 osteoarthritis, whom we prospectively studied between August
2011 and July 2012. There were 61 men (65 hips) and 115 women (137
hips) with a mean age of 51.8 years (11 to 83). Radiological analyses
included the α-angle, centre–edge angle, cross-over sign, pistol
grip deformity and femoral head neck ratio. Of the 202 hips, 79
(39.1%) had acetabular dysplasia, while 80 hips (39.6%) had no known
aetiology. We found evidence of FAI in 60 hips (29.7%). Radiological
FAI findings associated with cam deformity were the most common.
There was a significant relationship between the pistol grip deformity
and both the α-angle (p <
0.001) and femoral head–neck ratio
(p = 0.024). Radiological evidence of symptomatic FAI was not uncommon
in these Japanese patients. Cite this article:
We reviewed the outcome of patients who had been
treated operatively for symptomatic peri-acetabular metastases and
present an algorithm to guide treatment. The records of 81 patients who had been treated operatively for
symptomatic peri-acetabular metastases between 1987 and 2010 were
identified. There were 27 men and 54 women with a mean age of 61
years (15 to 87). The diagnosis, size of lesion, degree of pelvic
continuity, type of reconstruction, World Health Organization performance
status, survival time, pain, mobility and complications including
implant failure were recorded in each case. The overall patient survivorship at five years was 5%. The longest
lived patient survived 16 years from the date of diagnosis. The
mean survival was 23 months (<
1 to 16 years) and the median
was 15 months. At follow-up 14 patients remained alive. Two cementoplasties
failed because of local disease progression. Three Harrington rods broke:
one patient needed a subsequent Girdlestone procedure. One ‘ice-cream
cone’ prosthesis dislocated and was subsequently revised without
further problems. We recommend the ‘ice-cream cone’ for pelvic discontinuity
and Harrington rod reconstruction for severe bone loss. Smaller
defects can be safely managed using standard revision hip techniques. Cite this article:
The December 2013 Oncology Roundup360 looks at: Peri-articular resection fraught with complications; Navigated margins; Skeletal tumours and thromboembolism; Conditional survival in Ewing’s sarcoma; Reverse shoulders and tumour; For how long should we follow up sarcoma patients?; and already metastasised?
A total of 157 hindquarter amputations were carried
out in our institution during the last 30 years. We have investigated
the reasons why this procedure is still required and the outcome.
This operation was used as treatment for 13% of all pelvic bone
sarcomas. It was curative in 140 and palliative in 17, usually to
relieve pain. There were 90 primary procedures (57%) with the remaining
67 following the failure of previous operations to control the disease
locally. The indication for amputation in primary disease was for
large tumours for which limb-salvage surgery was no longer feasible.
The peri-operative mortality was 1.3% (n = 2) and major complications
of wound healing or infection arose in 71 (45%) patients. The survival
at five years after hindquarter amputation with the intent to cure
was 45%, and at ten years 38%. Local recurrence occurred in 23 patients
(15%). Phantom pain was a significant problem, and only 20% used
their prosthesis regularly. Functional scores were a mean of 57%.
With careful patient selection the oncological results and functional outcomes
of hindquarter amputation justify its continued use. Cite this article:
Intrapelvic migration of the acetabular component of a total hip replacement, with severe acetabular destruction making reconstruction impossible, is very rare. We present a patient in whom the component was removed using a laparotomy and a transperitoneal approach with subsequent salvage using a saddle prosthesis and a total femoral replacement.
The purpose of this study was to investigate
the development of the osseous acetabular index (OAI) and cartilaginous
acetabular index (CAI) using MRI. The OAI and CAI were measured
on the coronal MR images of the hip in 81 children with developmental
dysplasia of the hip (DDH), with a mean age of 19.6 months (3 to
70), and 241 normal control children with a mean age of 5.1 years
(1 month to 12.5 years). Additionally the developmental patterns
of the OAI and CAI in normal children were determined by age-based
cross-sectional analysis. Unlike the OAI, the normal CAI decreased rapidly from a mean
of 10.17° (
We aimed to identify the incidence, outcome and prognostic factors associated with spindle cell sarcomas of bone (SCSB). We studied 196 patients with a primary non-metastatic tumour treated with the intent to cure. The results were compared with those of osteosarcoma patients treated at our hospital during the same period. The overall incidence of SCSB was 7.8% of all patients with a primary bone sarcoma. The five- and ten-year survival rates were 67.0% and 60.0%, respectively, which were better than those of patients with osteosarcoma treated over the same period. All histological subtypes had similar outcomes. On univariate analysis, factors that were significantly associated with decreased survival were age >
40 years, size >
8 cm, the presence of a pathological fracture, amputation, involved margins and a poor response to pre-operative chemotherapy. Multivariate analyses showed that age >
65 years, amputation and involved margins were all statistically significant prognostic factors. Involved margins and poor response to pre-operative chemotherapy were associated with an increased risk of local recurrence. SCSB has a better prognosis than osteosarcoma when matched for age. Most prognostic factors for osteosarcoma also seem to apply to SCSB. Patients with SCSB should be treated in the same way as patients of the same age with osteosarcoma.
We report 17 patients (20 hips) in whom metal-on-metal resurfacing had been performed and who presented with various symptoms and a soft-tissue mass which we termed a pseudotumour. Each patient underwent plain radiography and in some, CT, MRI and ultrasonography were also performed. In addition, histological examination of available samples was undertaken. All the patients were women and their presentation was variable. The most common symptom was discomfort in the region of the hip. Other symptoms included spontaneous dislocation, nerve palsy, a noticeable mass or a rash. The common histological features were extensive necrosis and lymphocytic infiltration. To date, 13 of the 20 hips have required revision to a conventional hip replacement. Two are awaiting revision. We estimate that approximately 1% of patients who have a metal-on-metal resurfacing develop a pseudotumour within five years. The cause is unknown and is probably multifactorial. There may be a toxic reaction to an excess of particulate metal wear debris or a hypersensitivity reaction to a normal amount of metal debris. We are concerned that with time the incidence of these pseudotumours may increase. Further investigation is required to define their cause.
We reviewed 124 patients with a conventional pelvic chondrosarcoma who had been treated over a period of 20 years. We recorded the type of tumour (central or peripheral), type of operation (limb salvage surgery or hemipelvectomy), the grade of tumour, local recurrence and/or metastases, in order to identify the factors which might influence survival. More satisfactory surgical margins were achieved for central tumours or in those patients treated by hemipelvectomy. However, grade 1 tumours, whatever the course, did not develope metastases or cause death, while grade 3 tumours had the worst outcome and prognosis. Central, high-grade tumours require aggressive surgical treatment in order to achieve adequate surgical margins, particularly in those lesions located close to the sacroiliac joint. By contrast, grade 1 peripheral chondrosarcomas may be treated with contaminated margins in order to reduce operative morbidity, but without reducing survival.
We describe a method of reconstruction using tumour-bearing autograft treated by liquid nitrogen in 28 patients. The operative technique consisted of The limb function was rated as excellent in 20 patients (71.4%), good in three (10.7%), fair in three (10.7%), and poor in two (7.1%). At the final follow-up six patients had died at a mean of 19.8 months after the operation, while 21 remained free from disease with a mean follow-up of 28.1 months (10 to 54). One patient is alive with disease. Bony union was seen at a mean of 6.7 months after the operation in 26 patients. Complications were encountered in seven patients, including three deep infections, two fractures, and two local recurrences. All were managed successfully. Our results suggest that this is a simple and effective method of biological reconstruction.