Limb salvage surgery

Limb salvage surgery (also called limb sparing surgery or just limb salvage) is a type of surgery primarily performed to save the limb and to reconstruct it. Limb salvage is usually performed to save as much as the patient's original bone. When a Limb salvage is performed; it could involve taking an the area around the tumor (which includes: muscle).

History

In the 1970s and 1980s, the standard of care for a patient with cancer in a limb was to amputate.

Procedure

Radiation is only used as a "last resort", because; it can damage the surrounding tissue, make the bones more brittle and can cause cancer to occur. Proper margins are necessary because if the margins are to small, the cancer can reoccur.

Preparation

A doctor or an anesthesiologist marks the proper limb, so that the wrong limb is not somehow operated on.

See also

• Orthopedic surgery
• Allograft
• Autograft

Further reading

• Total and partial femur reconstructions: and