Bone Tumor Surgery
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About The Procedure
This surgery is the main treatment for specific types of bone cancer. The main goal of surgery is to remove every malignant cell because if the extraction is not enough and a small amount of cancer is left behind (even if the amount cannot be seen by the eyes), it might grow and make a new cancerous tumour, and might even metastasize to other parts of the body.
That’s why surgeons remove the tumour plus some of the normal tissue around it to lower the risk of this happening. This is known as a wide excision.
What are bone tumours?
There are two major groups, nonmalignant(benign) tumours and malignant tumours
Malignant tumours like osteosarcoma which is the most common, chondrosarcoma, and Ewing sarcoma which is more common in children or other
Are all cases of bone tumour eradicable?
No, the ability to do an extracting surgery on the tumour is a complicated issue that follows a specific algorithm depending on whether the tumour is benign or malignant, the stage of cancer, and the patient’s overall condition.
But whatever the cancer type is, if it has metastasized to other organs (the tumour is no longer limited to the location where it started) then surgery to remove the tumour and cure the patient is not possible. And all treatments (including surgery) are palliative.
Bone Tumour Surgery Types
Limb salvage surgery:
This is the most common type of surgery for primary bone cancer. Around 85 out of every 100 (85%) osteosarcomas are treated with this surgery.
Limb sparing surgery is the main operation for cancers that are located in the arms or legs. Yet, not all tumours are removable this depends on many factors like the size of the tumour, the grade of the tumour, and if it has metastasized or not. surgery involves removing the section of the affected bone and some of the surrounding tissue (in case any cancerous cells have spread into the tissue) and still leaving a working leg or arm.
The section of bone that is removed along with the tumour is replaced with a bone graft which can be a metal implant called a prosthesis
Or replacement bone either from another part of the body or from a bone bank
Amputation (removal of the limb):
this operation means removing a part of the body completely. Usually, the surgeon removes part of an arm or leg rather than the whole limb.
We turn to this operation when the limb-sparing surgery is not enough so MRI and others exams are done to decide the level of the amputation.
Surgery is usually planned so that muscles and skin will form a cuff around the amputated bone. Then there are two options either the cuff fits into the end of an artificial limb (external prosthesis). Or it might be to implant a prosthesis into the remaining bone, the end of which remains outside the skin. This can then be attached to an external prosthesis.
Amputation surgery indications
- cancer has grown into the major nerves and blood vessels around your bone tumour
- you developed an infection after limb-sparing surgery and the prosthesis or bone graft had to be removed
- it is not possible to completely remove cancer with limb sparing surgery
Recovery After Bone Tumour Surgery
first you may wake up in the intensive care unit or a high dependency recovery unit. Then you will be moved back to the ward.
How fast you recover from surgery depends on the kind of surgery you had and your overall health.
-X rays and other imaging studies will be done to confirm that the tumour is gone.
You’ll be asked to attend frequent appointments in the first 2 years after treatment has finished – possibly every 3 months. These will become less frequent as the years go on.
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