Summary – Total Femoral Replacement – A Retrospective Analysis
The present study details a retrospective analysis of total femoral replacement with a modular megaprosthesis. The aim of this study was to examine the implant survival of 36 consecutive patients, operated on at the University Hospital Klinikum Rechts der Isar, and to subsequently analyze surgery-related complications as well as the functional clinical outcome over the time period 1995 and 2011.
Depending on the initial diagnosis, the patient population was divided into two groups: a tumor group and a revision arthroplasty group.
The results show that the age of the patient may be a better indicator of positive functional outcome (as measured by mobility, walking ability, function of the lower extremity) than the indication for the replacement. While younger patients in the tumor group show an overall improvement in function and mobility after femoral replacement, elderly patients present with a reduction in pain and limb salvage, but report little to no post-operative improvement in function or mobility. The outcome of the tumor group is comparable to outcomes described in the literature, while the non-tumor/revision group reveals significant lower results.
In comparison to a primary endoprothesis of the lower extremity, the total femoral replacement causes a higher incidence of complications, such as soft-tissue failure and deep periprosthetic infection. These complications can be attributed to the compromised state of the soft-tissue, where soft-tissue damage can be attributed to defects caused by the tumor resection or previous multiple revision surgeries. Unfortunately, the complications often result in a long and cost-intensive treatment process and decrease the implant survival.
Despite these challenges, total femur replacement is an established procedure to reconstruct large bone defects of the femur, including the joints of the hip and knee. In many cases, this procedure is the last reasonable option for limb salvage. For large bone defects after tumor resection or failed revision arthroplasty, total femur replacement is a feasible alternative to amputation, as demonstrated in the present analysis. We believe total femur replacement will play an important role in the next decades.
For the future, it is recommended that one assess the indication thoroughly, taking the number and severity of complications into consideration. This includes the establishment of standard treatment procedures, follow-up measurements, and a standardization of the documentation of complications. Finally, the procedure should only be performed by well-trained experts in specialized centres for endoprosthetic replacement.
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Summary – Total Femoral Replacement – A Retrospective Analysis
The present study details a retrospective analysis of total femoral replacement with a modular megaprosthesis. The aim of this study was to examine the implant survival of 36 consecutive patients, operated on at the University Hospital Klinikum Rechts der Isar, and to subsequently analyze surgery-related complications as well as the functional clinical outcome over the time period 1995 and 2011.
Depending on the initial diagnosis,...
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