[Surgical aspects of bone tumors in children]

The combination of surgical procedures with chemotherapy and radiotherapy has improved the disease-free 3-year survival rate in children treated for malignant bone tumors, and it is now 80%. As far as the quality of life is concerned, limb-conserving technique should be preferred whenever possible. The rate of local recurrence is equal to that after amputation, while the rate of pulmonary metastasis somewhat higher, for reasons that are still unknown. It is shown that the decision for amputation or segmental resection has to be considered strictly individually for each patient.