Temporary External Fixation Can Stabilize Hip Transposition Arthroplasty After Resection of Malignant Periacetabular Bone Tumors

摘要

Background The choice of reconstructive procedure to restore limb function is challenging after internal hemi-pelvectomy. Hip transposition arthroplasty, also known as resection arthroplasty, removes a malignant or aggressive tumor of the pelvis and acetabulum after which the remaining femoral head is moved proximally to the lateral surface side of the sacrum or the underside of the resected ilium after internal hemipelvectomy. It may provide reasonable functional results and have some advantages such as lowering the risk of an infected implant compared with other reconstructions because no foreign implants are used. Hip transposition is generally managed with prolonged bed rest or immobilization postoperatively to stabilize the soft tissue surrounding the remaining femur. Because enabling patients to be mobile while the soft tissues heal might be advantageous, we reviewed our experience with an external fixation for this procedure. Questions/purposes (1) Does temporary external fixation facilitate postoperative physiotherapy in patients who undergo hip transposition arthroplasty? (2) What functional Musculoskeletal Tumor Society (MSTS) scores were achieved at short term in a small series of patients treated with hip transposition and temporary external fixation? (3) What were the complications of using external fixation in a small series of patients who received it for malignant tumors? Methods Between 2008 and 2012, we treated seven patients (three men and four women; median age, 37 years; age range, 18-53 years) with acetabular resection for malignant bone tumors; all were managed with a hip transposition, initially stabilized using external fixation. No other types of procedures were used for this indication in this period. Minimum followup in this retrospective study was 45 months, except for one patient who died at 18 months (range of followup duration, 18-90 months; median followup, 57 months), and no patients were lost to followup. The pins for external fixation were inserted into the affected side of the femur and the healthy contralateral ilium. External fixation was removed 6 weeks postoperatively and weightbearing was started at that time.