title: Limb salvage in the skeletally immature patient.
abstract: The most common tumors of bone, osteosarcoma and Ewing sarcoma, commonly occur in the skeletally immature patient. Historically, amputation was the procedure of choice; however, improved oncologic outcome and technical advances in limb salvage surgery have made limb salvage therapy a feasible and valuable treatment option. Nevertheless, depending on the extent of the lesion within the long bone, it may be difficult to spare the physis, and hence, in the skeletally immature patient, resection of a sarcoma of bone can create a limb-length discrepancy and gait abnormalities. This article reviews the limb salvage options available for the skeletally immature patient who requires reconstruction of a segmental long bone defect.
authors.affiliation: University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77230, USA. volewis@mdanderson.org
authors.forename: Valerae O
authors.initials: VO
authors.lastname: Lewis
mesh_terms: D000671:Amputation, Surgical; D001846:Bone Development; D001858:Bone Nails; D001859:Bone Neoplasms / Q000534:rehabilitation / Q000601:surgery*; D001863:Bone Screws; D016025:Bone Transplantation; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007870:Leg Length Inequality; D023821:Limb Salvage; D019637:Orthopedic Procedures; D019857:Osteogenesis, Distraction / Q000379:methods*; D012516:Osteosarcoma / Q000534:rehabilitation / Q000601:surgery*; D010027:Osteotomy; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D019919:Prosthesis Implantation; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures