Salvage of the limb in the treatment of malignant pelvic tumors

From 1970 through 1985, at the Mayo Clinic, sixty patients had operative treatment, with salvage of the limb, for a primary malignant tumor of the pelvis. Chondrosarcoma, osteosarcoma, and fibrosarcoma were common diagnoses. There were twenty-three iliosacral, twenty-five acetabular, and twelve ischiopubic lesions. Most of the resections were done with a wide margin and disruption of femorosacral continuity. Reconstruction included ten iliosacral, fourteen iliofemoral, and three ischiofemoral arthrodeses, and approximately 50 per cent of the procedures resulted in fusion. The average length of follow-up exceeded five years. Seventeen per cent of the patients, primarily those in whom an iliosacral lesion extended into the sacrum or along the spinal column, had a local recurrence. Twenty-one patients (37 per cent) had metastasis. The best functional results were seen after resections in which femorosacral continuity was maintained or reconstructed. If satisfactory margins can be achieved by the excision of a pelvic tumor, salvage of the limb is justified from both an oncological and a functional standpoint.