Radical scapulectomy with limb salvage for shoulder girdle soft tissue sarcoma

Limb-sparing surgical procedures, such as the Tikhoff-Linberg resection, have gradually replaced the forequarter amputation as the surgical treatment of choice for soft tissue tumours in and around the shoulder girdle. Although the Tikhoff-Linberg procedure provides limb salvage, it leaves a significant functional and cosmetic deficit in many patients. Scapular resections combined with radical excision of the soft tissues allows wide margins of resection, limited excision of uninvolved bone and excellent physical rehabilitation in treating soft tissue tumours of the shoulder girdle. The case of a young woman with Stage IVA malignant fibrous histiocytoma of the left shoulder girdle who underwent a radical scapulectomy with limb salvage and adequate surgical margins, while preserving a functional and cosmetically acceptable extremity, is reported. A historical review of scapular resections is also presented.