Soft tissue sarcoma resection volume associated with wound-healing complications

Limb-salvage surgery has become the standard of care for most soft tissue sarcomas. While primary closure is often possible, it is frequently complicated by wound-healing complications in the setting of previously irradiated tissue and surgical wounds closed under tension. We sought to identify a relationship between the volume of resected soft tissue and the rate of wound-healing complications. We retrospectively reviewed 108 patients who were treated over a 17-month period for soft-tissue sarcomas using limb-salvage methods. Of these, 87 patients were treated with primary wound closure and 21 patients underwent primary muscle flap closure at the time of wide surgical excision. Of the 87 patients treated with primary wound closure, the mean volume of resected tissue in the group with wound-healing complications was greater than that the group that healed without complications. The mean volume of resected tissue in the group with wound-healing complications was 919 cm3 +/- 1173 cm3 and the mean volume of resected tissue in the group without wound-healing complications was 456 cm3 +/- 704 cm3. Mean volume of resected tissue in the group of patients treated with primary flap coverage was 1908 cm3, over twice as large as the mean volume of resected tissue in the group of patients treated with primary closure.