Surgical Technique and Outcome of Custom Joint-Sparing Endoprosthesis as a Reconstructive Modality in Juxta-Articular Bone Sarcoma

Background. Joint-sparing limb salvage surgery (JSLSS) is an advancement in the techniques and concepts of limb salvage surgery, which makes it possible to save not only the limb affected by malignancy but also the adjacent joint and the epiphyseal plate. In the growing child, this procedure is technically demanding due to the availability of small length of bone for implant purchase. Reconstruction options can be biological reconstruction or endoprosthesis; however, the outcome of endoprosthetic reconstruction after joint-sparing resection is not well described in the literature. Purposes. (1) To determine the prosthesis survival rates when using customized Joint-Sparing Endoprosthesis (JSE) after juxta-articular resection of bone tumors, (2) to investigate the rates of local recurrence, (3) to evaluate the need for revision surgery, and (4) to compare the outcome of customized JSE with that of joint-sacrificing techniques. Methods. In our study, joint sparing is defined as any procedure where a custom-made JSE is used in lieu of sacrificing the adjacent joint whenever the length of the remaining bone segment is not enough to accommodate the stem of a modular implant. Twenty-eight patients received JSE, and 31 joints were spared. Their age ranged from 4 to 55 years with a median age of 13 years. Twenty-one patients received surgery for primary reconstruction and 7 patients for revision of failed bone allograft or modular implant. Twenty-four joints are spared in the lower limbs and 7 in the upper limbs. Osteosarcoma was the most common pathological diagnosis (n = 13). Flat surface HA-coated custom JSE was used to spare 15 joints, and short-stemmed custom JSE was used to spare 16 joints. The length of the remaining bone epiphysis for JSE anchorage from the knee and ankle joints was 25–75 mm, median = 45 mm, and the length of the cortical bone remaining for the proximal femur and distal humerus was 5–70 mm, median = 10 mm. Results. Operative time was 2.5 to 4 hours (avg. 3 hr.) The bone resection surface fitted the prosthesis surface with <2 mm difference. Histological examination of all resected specimens shows clear bone resection margins; 2 patients had positive soft tissue margins. At mean follow-up period of 3 years (6 months–10 years), 6 patients developed local and systemic recurrences, three of them had a pathological fracture at the time of diagnosis (P=0.139), and 4 showed a poor response to chemotherapy (P=0.014); all recurrences occurred in the soft tissue. Implant survival at 5 years was 86.15%, and MSTS score was 90% (83–96%). Conclusions. Whenever this kind of implant is affordable and can be utilized, particularly in younger age groups, JSE may be a good reconstruction option to avoid the use of expandable implants and to avoid the potentially higher revision and complication rates associated with biological reconstruction, as well as the complications of conventional joint-sacrificing implant, mainly dislocations and polyethylene wear and tear.