FIRST EXPERIENCES OF THE CLAVICULA PRO HU MERO - AN OPERATION ACCORDING TO WINKELMANN FOR MALIGNANT BONE-TUMORS OF THE PROXIMAL HUMERUS IN CHILDREN

Between 1980 and 1995, 11 children with osteosarcoma were treated at t he Clinic of Pediatric Surgery of the Martin-Luther-University, Halle- Wittenberg. In the first years of this period we treated six of the ch ildren according to the protocols of the study group ''Tumors'' of the Society for Pediatric Surgery. At that time the preferred concept was radical surgical resection followed by adjuvant chemotherapy. For sev eral years we favored the therapeutic regime of the Society for Pediat ric Oncology and Hematology and treated five children according to the principles of the cooperative studies of osteosarcoma. With the intro duction of aggressive neo-adjuvant chemotherapy it was possible to per form reconstructive limb surgery. We report on our own first experienc es with the ''Clavicula pro humero'', an operation according to Winkel mann for malignant bone tumors of the proximal humerus. This new opera tive method is described and possible complications are discussed.