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A new approach to reconstruct pelvic bone defects using autograft

2018-10-17

Pelvic surgery has long been a hard nut to crack in the medical field due to the complex structure of the pelvis. Pelvic ring reconstruction after resection of pelvic malignancies or aggressive benign tumors remains challenging and formidable both at home and abroad.

Recently, the research team led by Prof. YE Zhaoming in the Department of Orthopedics at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine successfully developed an original approach to restructuring pelvic rings after resection of pelvic tumors with 12-year clinical research, thus opening the door for biological reconstruction and promoting the life quality of patients after surgery.

The relevant findings are featured in an article entitled “Upshifting the Ipsilateral Proximal Femur May Provide Satisfactory Reconstruction of Periacetabular Pelvic Bone Defects after Tumor Resection” in Clinical Orthopedics and Related Research, a top journal in the field of orthopedics.

Between October 2006 and May 2016, the research team treated 67 patients with Type II malignant or aggressive benign tumors of the ilium. Of those, they used an ipsilateral proximal femur and fitted a prosthesis as a reconstruction method for 11 patients with pelvic tumors. In general, they performed this approach in young or middle-aged patients with primary malignant or aggressive benign tumors involving pelvic area II and in whom the tumor did not invade the hip. The method used for resection of pelvic tumors included osteotomy of the femoral shaft, harvesting the proximal femur as a graft. The proper placement was selected after a comparison of the proximal femur and the pelvic defect. A curved reconstruction plate and cancellous bone screws were used for pelvic fixation. 

Results show that this technique of using the ipsilateral proximal femur may be an alternative method for reconstruction of pelvic bone defects after tumor resection. It will be a real boon to patients with malignant bone tumors, for it can not only save their life but also ensure their life quality after surgery.