Long-Term Outcomes of Rotationplasty patients in the treatment of lower extremity sarcomas with cost analysis.

Objective: There are many options for restoration of function in treating lower extremity sarcomas in young children. The trend has moved towards the use of expandable prosthetics for treatment; however, this has been fraught with complications and expense. The aim of this study was to assess long-term functional outcome scores and emotional satisfaction of rotationplasty and megaprosthesis patients compared to the general population.

Methods: Surveys querying surviving members of a rotationplasty cohort from our institution were sent out including MSTS, TESS and Rand SF-36 questionnaires. Demographic information, surgical intervention, disease status and length of follow-up were collected.

Results: The average MSTS score of the eight respondents available and who agreed to participate in the study was 65.4%. The average TESS was 90.0%. The results of our eight respondents showed Rand SF-36 results with norm-based scoring averages of 46.4 for physical health and 55.6 for mental health. In this study, the patients who were alive with no evidence of disease averaged greater than eighteen-years of follow-up.

Conclusion: Patients functioned well relative to their peers when in an appropriate prosthesis. Patients were emotionally satisfied with rotationplasty and functioned in-line with the general population physically and mentally.