DEVELOPMENT AND TEST OF AN EXTENDIBLE ENDOPROSTHESIS FOR BONE RECONSTRUCTION IN THE LEG

A malignant bone tumour may develop in the femur of a child. In the ma jority of cases it will be necessary to resect the bone involved, grow th plate and adjacent tissues. A modular endoprosthetic system has bee n developed which can be extended noninvasively to bridge the defect r esulting from such a resection. Elongation is achieved by using an ext ernal magnetic field. In vitro tests with a prototype showed that the lengthening element met all requirements. Six animal experiments showe d that the lengthening element also functioned in vivo.