[Ablative procedures in surgical treatment of malignant bone tumors]

Limb-sparing surgery is the treatment of choice for primary malignant bone tumors. However, ablative procedures cannot always be avoided. The indication to sacrifice the limb depends on localization, size, and biology of the tumor and does not represent failure of treatment primarily. Amputation of the limb is necessary if there is no other operative procedure to achieve negative surgical margins even if all adjunctive therapeutic options have been considered. Primary ablative resections may be indicated with both curative and palliative intent. Secondary ablative procedures mainly result from local recurrence. Late complications of endoprosthetic or allograft reconstruction also may necessitate ablative surgery. In this paper, general guidelines for ablative surgeries are presented. Following amputation, early prosthetic repair of the extremity is the goal. In those patients with consolidated stump development definitive prosthesis should be adapted. Results of hemipelvectomy and forequarter amputation from our institution are reported. However, this group of patients together with those undergoing shoulder exarticulation and forequarter amputation represent situations with no prosthetic repair possible. The loss of an extremity induces disability and restriction of ego, physical integrity, and quality of life. However, it should be borne in mind that amputation could represent the only chance of cure sometimes. Sharing the decision-making between patient and physician for this procedure is an important step to develop confidence in the therapeutic process. In this setting, direct contact between patients being confronted with the option of an amputation and those patients having already undergone rehabilitative procedures might be very useful.