Endoprosthetic reconstruction for malignant upper extremity tumors

Between December 1980 and December 1992, 59 patients underwent 60 reconstructions with endoprostheses after resection of malignant tumors in the upper extremity. There were 32 male patients and 27 female patients, with a mean age of 33 years (range, 3-83 years). The type of reconstruction was based on the location of the primary tumor site. The histologic diagnoses included osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, Ewing's sarcoma, malignant fibrous histiocytoma, soft tissue sarcoma, and fibrosarcoma of bone. Most of the patients had Stage IIB disease (N = 38), as established by the Musculoskeletal Tumor Society classification. An additional six patients had metastatic tumors to the upper extremity. Twenty-seven of 59 patients died of disease progression. Two patients died of other causes (chronic leukemia, human immunodeficiency virus infection). The 30 survivors had a mean followup of 90 months (range, 60-170 months). The Musculoskeletal Tumor Society functional analysis for the patients with a minimum 2-year followup (N = 41) averaged 74%. Sixteen of the 59 (27%) patients had local complications. Problems related to mechanical failure and infection were managed successfully with second operation. Amputation was rare, occurring in three of 60 (5%) patients and was related only to local recurrence. Endoprosthetic reconstructions of the upper extremity after tumor resections have proven to be successful.