Bone and Soft-Tissue Tumors for the General Orthopaedic Surgeon: Diagnosis, Management, and Avoiding Errors

Orthopaedic surgeons will encounter a variety of bone and soft-tissue lesions throughout their careers. Although most of these lesions will be benign and nonaggressive, many others will require management that is time consuming, challenging, and stressful for surgeons and patients. Errors in management, if they occur, may delay diagnosis and hinder efforts to perform limb-sparing surgery. A systematic approach to the evaluation of adult and pediatric patients with bone or soft-tissue tumors will help general orthopaedic surgeons correctly diagnose and manage tumors, understand when to refer patients to an orthopaedic oncologist, and avoid management errors.