Background. The objective of our study was to evaluate the stabilization of reconstructed long bones after metastatic
tumor resection and defect filling with
polymethyl methacrylate (
PMMA) or bone allograft. Material and methods. We studied a group of 107 patients who underwent surgery between 1996 and 2004 (55 females and 46 males). A primary neoplasmatic focus was found after histopathological examination in 58 cases, in 29 the histopathology was not evident, and in 20 cases no neoplastic tissue was found.
Metastases were found within the femur in 73 cases, in the humerus in 19 cases, and in the tibia in 15 cases. Stabilization was performed using the traditional AO method,
intramedullary nailing, or DHS/DCS fixation. Results. Taking into consideration clinical and radiological assessment, outcomes varied from fair to good. Better outcome was obtained in cases treated by
polymethyl methacrylate (
PMMA) filling combined with
intramedullary nailing or DCS/DHS than in cases treated with traditional AO plating. For
tumor-like lesions, complete bone graft consolidation was found after bone allograft filling in 14 of 20 cases. Conclusions. The 2 methods of long bone stabilization mentioned above, combined with
polymethyl methacrylate (
PMMA) or bone allograft filling, is the method of choice. Deep frozen
bone grafting is possible only in cases of total
tumor resection with the possibility of non-malignant
tumor. The effect of reconstruction, besides fair or good outcome, included improved quality of life, less consumption of
analgesics, and in many cases successful avoidance of
pathological fracture.