title: Local recurrence, survival and function after total femur resection and megaprosthetic reconstruction for bone sarcomas.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The choices of treatment for patients with extensive tumors of the femur include total femur megaprosthesis or large allograft-prosthetic composites. Previous reports suggest variable survival ranging from 60-70% at 1 to 2 years. However, these studies described earlier prostheses and techniques.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To confirm previous reports we determined (1) risk of local recurrence; (2) overall survivorship; and (3) function in patients with total femur reconstructions for tumors.
  
  
  METHODS
  We retrospectively reviewed 23 patients with total femur megaprostheses implanted between 1987 and 2006 after resection of bone tumors. Two patients lost at followup were excluded; the remaining 21 included 15 males and six females with a mean age of 21 years. The mean followup was 48 months (range, 1 month 17 years). Function was assessed according to the MSTS System II.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No patient developed a local recurrence during followup. At last followup, six patients were continuously disease-free at a mean of 148 months, one patient had no evidence of disease after treatment of a recurrence, one patient was alive with disease, and 13 patients died of their disease at a mean time of 17 months. In 15 patients evaluated with the MSTS score, the mean score was 66%; four patients had over 75%, eight from 51% to 75%, three from 26% to 50%. Four patients (19%) had complications requiring further surgery in absence of trauma. A fifth patient had a posttraumatic periprosthetic fracture.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A total femur prosthesis allows a limb-preserving procedure in tumors with extensive femoral involvement or in the presence of a skip lesion along the femur. The prognosis of these tumors is poor, but this reconstruction provides function with a relatively low rate of major complications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, University of Bologna, Istituto Rizzoli, Bologna, Italy. pietro.ruggieri@ior.it
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ruggieri
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bosco
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pala
authors.forename: Costantino
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Errani
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mercuri
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D005266:Femoral Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D023821:Limb Salvage; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D019637:Orthopedic Procedures / Q000295:instrumentation; D010027:Osteotomy; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D019919:Prosthesis Implantation / Q000295:instrumentation; D020127:Recovery of Function; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012509:Sarcoma / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D015996:Survival Rate; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult