Objective To evaluate the surgical procedure of reinforced acetabular cage with caudal flange in reconstruction of pelvic defect after acetabular tumor resection. Methods Between June 2003 and December 2009, 25 patients with Harrington class III pelvic defect underwent reconstruction with a reinforced acetabular cage with caudal flange and total hip arthroplasty (THA). There were 13 males and 12 females with an average age of 51.2 years (range，13-73 years). The main cl inical manifestations included hip pain and buttock pain, with a median disease duration of 6 months (range, 1-96 months). Pathological findings showed 18 cases of metastasis, 3 cases of multiple myeloma, 1 case of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, 1 case of grade I chondrosarcoma, 1 case of giant cell tumor, and 1 case of chondroblastoma. For the patient with chondroblastoma, THA with LINK RIBBED system was used. An artificial total hip system made in China was used in 6 patients and LINK SP II system was used in the other 18 patients. Results No patients died perioperatively. Deep infection and hip dislocations occurred in 1 and 2 patients, respectively. At last follow-up, 8 of 18 patients with metastasis died of cancer and the average survival time was 11 months. The other 10 who were al ive were followed up 15 months on average. One patient with multiple myeloma died of pulmonary infection at 21 months after operation and the other 2 with multiple myeloma and 1 with lymphoma were al ive with an average follow-up of 17 months. The patient with grade I chondrosarcoma and patient with chondroblastoma were followed up 58 and 12 months, respectively, without recurrence. Recurrence occurred in the patient with giant cell tumor at 19 months afteroperation. Loosening of implant occurred in 3 patients because of local tumor recurrence. For the 23 patients at 6 months after operation, the mean Musculoskeletal Tumor Society (MSTS) 93 score was 81% (range, 57%-93%). Conclusion Reinforced acetabular cage with caudal flange could be used together with THA for reconstruction of Harrington class III pelvic defects after acetabular tumor resection, and low incidence of postoperative compl ication and good functional outcome could be expected.
Objective To investigate the surgical characteristics and preliminary effectiveness of Orthofix unilateral external fixator in the treatment of musculoskeletal tumors. Methods Twenty-two patients received Orthofix unilateral external fixator treatment for bone defect after tumor excision or complications after limb salvage surgery between June 2011 and March 2016. There were 11 males and 11 females with a median age of 23.5 years (range, 4-57 years). The bone defect or limb length discrepancy after tumor resection was at proximal femur in 6 cases, distal femur in 8 cases, diaphysis of femur in 3 cases, proximal tibia in 2 cases, and diaphysis of tibia in 3 cases. The external fixation was used for temporary fixation after reconstruction of bone defect in 10 cases [the length of bone defect was 6-19 cm (mean, 12.3 cm); using vascularized fibular graft in 2 cases, allograft bone and free fibular graft in 2 cases, allograft bone and autogenous bone graft in 5 cases, allograft bone reconstruction in 1 case]; bone distraction lengthening for limb length discrepancy in 5 cases [the length of shortening was 6.5-8.5 cm (mean, 7.5 cm)]; temporary fixation after open biopsy in 3 cases; bone transportation over locking plate in 1 case (the length of bone defect was 7.5 cm); fixation for preoperatively pathology fracture in 1 case; and joint distraction for dislocation after tumor ablation in 2 cases. Results All the patients were followed up 12-72 months (mean, 36 months). In 10 patients with bone defect reconstruction, the wearing external fixator time was 3-8 months (mean, 4.8 months); all got bone union with the healing time of 3-16 months (mean, 6.4 months); the Musculoskeletal Tumor Society 93 (MSTS 93) score was 73.3-93.3 (mean, 87.2); and no complication occurred during wearing external fixator. In 5 patients with bone distraction lengthening for limb length discrepancy, the wearing external fixator time was 7-15 months; 2 patients had axial deviation during distraction and2 had greenstick fracture after apparatus removal; pin site infection was observed in 2 cases with grade 1 and 1 case with grade 2 according to Checketts-Otterburn classification system; the MSTS 93 score was 80.0-96.7 (mean, 89.2). The remaining patients had no complications, the knee and ankle joint movement was normal. Conclusion Orthofix unilateral external fixator can be used in fixation for complex bone defect after tumor resection and to correct limb length discrepancy after limb salvage surgery.