Methods of reconstruction for bone defect after tumor excision: a review of alternatives

Bone defect is a common problem encountered in the treatment of musculoskeletal tumor surgery. Allograft is a commonly used technique to reconstruct a large osseous defect following tumor excision in the United States and some European countries, and relatively good results have been reported because of its biologic nature. However, with the use of an allograft, there are concerns of transmission of infectious diseases, immunological reactions, and social or religious refusal in some regions in the world. Under these circumstances, vascularized autogenous fibular or iliac bone grafts are commonly used techniques and bone lengthening techniques using external fixation have been reported recently. These procedures utilize viable bone. In addition to these procedures, some biological reconstructive techniques utilizing nonviable bone have been performed as surgical alternatives for allografts using treated recycling bone including irradiated or pasteurized resected bone graft and reconstruction using an autograft containing tumor treated by liquid nitrogen. Although each technique has its proper advantages and disadvantages, the clinical results are similar to the allograft, and numerous techniques are now available as reasonable alternatives for allografts.