Amputation yields better quality of life than limb salvage for children with limb sarcomas

CHICAGO — After primary resection, patients with lower extremity and upper extremity bone or soft tissue sarcomas treated with either limb salvage or amputation had physical and mental health scores similar to normative values, but patients who underwent an amputation self-reported better mental health scores.

"Amputees scored higher in health and function than limb salvage patients," Travis C. Heare, MD, said here at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting.

Heare discussed the results of an analysis done of the three scores that he and his co-authors at the Children’s Hospital of Colorado used to assess quality of life in the study group – the SF-36 mental and physical component scores and the Toronto Extremity Salvage Score (TESS).

Travis C. Heare

"The only factor that we found related to function and quality of life was males reporting significantly higher SF-36 physical component scores than females. No other variables were statistically significant,” he said. “Interestingly, the physical component score and mental component scores were not different than the normative values of unaffected children."

Furthermore, health-related quality of life data did not changes in children with sarcomas over time, Heare said.

Of the 37 patients studied with lower extremity tumors, 28 patients underwent limb salvage and nine patients had amputations.

"The physical component scores trended higher, but were not significant at 4.7 points. The mental scores were significantly higher in the amputees at 9.92 points and the TESS was also significantly higher at 9.21 points," Heare said.

Reference:

Heare TC. Paper #337. Presented at: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting; March 19-23, 2013. Chicago.

Disclosure: Heare has no relevant financial disclosures.