FOREQUARTER AMPUTATION FOR HIGH-GRADE MALIGNANT-TUMORS OF THE SHOULDER GIRDLE

We reviewed 20 patients after forequarter amputation performed for hig h-grade malignant tumours of the shoulder girdle (Enneking grades IIB to III), The operations were classified as palliative or curative acco rding to the resection margins and the presence of disseminated diseas e at the time of the surgery. There were five palliative and 15 curati ve procedures. Two patients died from unrelated causes, septicaemia an d suicide, Eight died in the first two years, four of whom had had a p alliative operation. Four died between two and five years after surger y one after a palliative operation. Five patients are alive, at a mean of 89.4 months after surgery four of whom are free from disease, The median survival after a palliative amputation was 20.6 months. Our ove rall five-year survival (palliative and curative cases) was 21.2%, for curative cases it tvas 30.2%. None of the patients use an artificial prosthesis. Despite the disfigurement which results from this operatio n, it still has a useful role to play in the management of high-grade malignant tumours of the upper limb.