Proximal femur reconstruction by an allograft prosthesis composite

Twenty-seven patients who had resection of the proximal femur for bone tumors and reconstruction with an allograft prosthesis composite are reported. In most of the patients, the prosthesis was a long-stem revision type, cemented in the allograft and uncemented in the femoral shaft. The abductor muscles and iliopsoas were sutured to the corresponding tendons on the allograft. Implant-related complications and functional results were evaluated and are reported. Twenty-two patients achieved a minimum followup of 36 months (range, 36-126 months; average, 58 months). The implant was removed in two patients (one for infection, one for intraoperative fracture of the allograft). One patient experienced nonunion, whereas in the remaining 24 patients, the allograft eventually united to the host bone. A frequent late complication (17 patients) was fracture of the greater trochanter of the allograft. In the whole series, only four new operations were done for implant-related complications. In 22 patients who could be evaluated, the functional evaluation according to the Musculoskeletal Tumor Society System was excellent in 16 (73%) patients, good in four (18%), and fair in two (9%). These results compare favorably with those of megaprostheses for tumor resection of the proximal femur, where a Trendelenburg gait almost always is present.