Management
A retrospective analysis of 81 patients with upper extremity sarcomas treated with limb salvage and reconstruction showed a mean total functional score of 23.1 using Enneking scores [PMID:15466352].
Eighty-five percent of patients were treated by limb salvage, with postoperative radiotherapy administered when margins were less than 2.5 cm, resulting in a 79 percent local recurrence-free survival rate [PMID:14707640].
Complications
Reconstruction-related complications and preoperative chemotherapy were associated with decreased functional scores by 7.3 points and 4.7 points, respectively [PMID:15466352].
Thirty patients required reconstructive procedures, including 20 pedicled and 10 free flaps, with no reported loss of free flaps [PMID:14707640].
Prognosis & Follow-up
Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed 82% 5-year overall survival and 67% 5-year disease-free survival rates in the study cohort [PMID:15466352].
The study reported a 5-year disease-specific overall survival rate of 75 percent for patients treated with the described protocol [PMID:14707640].
References
1 Kim JY, Youssef A, Subramanian V, Rogers BA, Pollock RE, Robb GL et al.. Upper extremity reconstruction following resection of soft tissue sarcomas: a functional outcomes analysis. Annals of surgical oncology 2004. link 2 Popov P, Tukiainen E, Asko-Seljavaara S, Huuhtanen R, Virolainen M, Virkkunen P et al.. Soft-tissue sarcomas of the upper extremity: surgical treatment and outcome. Plastic and reconstructive surgery 2004. link
2 papers cited of 3 indexed.