Liposarcoma of the leg

Forty-eight patients with liposarcomas of the leg were reviewed. Patients were treated by three approaches: wide local excision, amputation, and regional hyperthermic perfusion. Deaths from distant metastases occurred at a similar rate in all groups. The local recurrence rate was 43 percent in the wide excision group and 29 percent in the amputation group. No perfused patient had a local recurrence. This study demonstrates that hyperthermic regional perfusion and excision are superior to wide excision or amputation in preventing local recurrence for a liposarcoma of the leg and allow salvage of a functional limb.