Musculoskeletal tumor surgery in Göteborg

Careful preoperative planning is of great importance for successful surgical treatment of soft-tissue sarcomas. All means available should be used for determining as exactly as possible the location and extension of the tumor. Based on the observation that malignant soft-tissue tumors usually respect preformed fibrous barriers until a late stage, special surgical techniques have been devised. Some muscles in the body are dispensable and can be removed without significant loss of function. For assessing the prognosis after surgical treatment of soft-tissue sarcomas, a nonparametric multivariate analysis and a long follow-up period are essential. Seven cases of total spondylectomy (removal of one or several entire vertebrae), three cases of extended hemipelvectomy (parts of the adjacent spine included in the specimen), and one case of lumbosacral amputation (hemicorporectomy) are briefly reviewed with recent follow-up data.