Summary: Even though massive osteoarticular allografts have been reported to restore function successfully after tumor resection, little has been published about this procedure in post-traumatic joint reconstruction. We report two pediatric patients who sustained a grade III open fracture of the distal femur and were treated with osteoarticular allografts as a salvage procedure. In each patient, a femoral condyle was inserted to treat the bone and cartilage defect, and a 4.5 dynamic compressive plate was applied to fix the graft to the host bone. There were no complications after the reconstructive procedure. At 2 and 10 years of follow-up, both patients showed a favorable functional and radiographic outcome using the scoring instruments of the Musculo-skeletal Tumor Society and the International Symposium on Limb Salvage.
From the Instituto de Ortopedia “Carlos E. Ottolenghi”, Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Accepted for publication May 27, 2003.
None of the authors received financial support for this study.
The devises that are the subject of this manuscript are not FDA approved.
Reprints: D. Luis Muscolo, MD, Instituto de Ortopedia “Carlos E. Ottolenghi”, Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, Potosí 4215 (C1199ACK), Buenos Aires, Argentina (e-mail: viviana.gaiteiro@hospitalitaliano.org.ar).
