Function after removal of various hip and thigh muscles for extirpation of tumors

Forty-six patients who had undergone excision of one or more well defined hip and/or thigh muscles because of a soft-tissue tumor or a tumoriform lesion were investigated with respect to the function of the operated limb and the isometric and isokinetic strength of the affected motion or motions, relative to the non-operated side (percentage). Hip flexion: Loss of the iliopsoas caused slight impairment of function. The flexion strength decreased with increasing flexion of the hip joint. Loss of the rectus femoris reduced the isometric strength by 37 and the isokinetic strength by 17 per cent. Hip abduction: The strength reduction was only about 50 per cent and the impairment of function only slight or moderate even in patients with extensive loss of abductor muscles. Hip adduction: Removal of all three prime adductors (longus, brevis, magnus) caused a strength reduction of about 70 per cent but the impairment of function was only slight or moderate. Hip extension: Loss of the gluteus maximus caused only a small strength reduction and no impairment or only slight impairment of function. Significant strength reduction was only seen when all hamstrings had been removed. Knee extension: Loss of one, two, and three of the quadriceps muscles reduced the isometric strength by 22, 33, and 55 per cent, respectively. The isokinetic strength was reduced somewhat more. The strength reduction usually had to exceed 50 per cent to cause more than slight impairment of function. Knee flexion: Loss of the semitendinosus, the biceps femoris, and all the hamstrings reduced the isometric strength by 24, 28, and 67 per cent, respectively. The isokinetic strength was reduced somewhat less. Loss of one of the hamstrings usually caused no impairment of function whereas loss of all three resulted in moderate impairment of function.