The technique for growth plate sparing in soft-tissue sarcoma around the knee.
Amputation in a growing child should be performed through a joint and not above or below a joint, as is commonly the case in an adult. We describe a technique for performing a through-knee amputation in a situation in which a soft-tissue sarcoma involved a leg, reaching up to the knee joint. Soft-tissue dissection was performed above the knee, leaving a safe zone from the tumor. The distal femur was dissected free of all attachments to the tibia and leg, leaving it intact but protruding from the soft-tissue sleeve of the thigh. To be able to close the stump over the protruding distal femur, the femur was shortened in the metaphysodiaphyseal area. Follow-up over 3 years shows a good through-knee stump, tumor free, and a normal distal growth plate.
Angel
D
D
Orthopaedic Department, Carmel Medical Center, Haifa, Israel.
Kligman
M
M
Roffman
M
M
D000671:Amputation, Surgical / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005269:Femur / Q000502:physiology; D006132:Growth Plate; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007866:Leg; D012509:Sarcoma / Q000601:surgery*; D012983:Soft Tissue Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*