Total Femur Replacement Procedures in Tumor Treatment

Replacement of bone segments after resection of a tumor-containing bone has a long history, and currently metallic implants and allografts have reasonable rates of success in terms of patient survival and restoration of useful function. Total femoral resections for extensive tumors are uncommon but clearly represent a major problem, which in the past has required hip disarticulations. In recent years, resection and replacement using custom metallic implants and more recently modular devices have allowed the patients to be restored to reasonable function. Allografts have not been used commonly for this purpose. During the past 23 years, we have done 15 total femoral replacements for osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, metastatic carcinoma, and an osteonecrotic fractured femur in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis and for a patient with severe deformity based on Paget’s disease. Ten of these patients had allografts implanted with total hip replacement and total knee replacement implants and five patients had metallic implants. Eight of the patients died from disease, but the remaining seven have done reasonably well in terms of function and absence of complications such as fracture or infection. None of the patients required an amputation. The procedure is complex and metallic implant and allograft implantation require wide surgery and special systems of reconstruction.

Level of Evidence: Therapeutic study, Level IV-1 (case series). See the Guidelines for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.