[Limb-salvage surgery in 60 patients with osteosarcoma]

Limb-salvage surgery plays an important role in the treatment of osteosarcoma. From 1974 to 1993, 104 patients with osteosarcoma were treated in our department. Sixty of them were treated with limb-salvage procedures. In fourty-four patients of stage II B receiving adjuvant chemotherapy, the five-year survival rate was 46.69%. The overall local recurrence rate was 15%. The infection rate was 12.9%, and mechanical complication occurred in 14.8% of the patients. The functional result was generally good. Improved concepts of en bloc resection and better reconstructive techniques suggest that limb-salvage procedures are not only possible but can provide excellent functional result in patients with osteosarcoma. Further work must be directed to reducing local recurrence and improving reconstructive techniques.