The Significance of Rectus Femoris for the Favorable Functional Outcome After Total Femur Replacement

BACKGROUND: In treatment of tumors, we usually reconstruct after resection of the entire femur using only metallic modular endoprostheses among many procedures and defined it as a total femur replacement. We studied the interrelation between the preservation of rectus femoris and the functional outcome after total femur replacement. METHODS: We rated the functional outcomes of 21 patients who underwent total femur replacement. We categorized the subjects into 2 groups: group A (rectus femoris preserved) and group B (rectus femoris unpreserved). We examined them based on the Mann-Whitney U test between the 2 groups in average through the Musculoskeletal Tumor Society functional scores. RESULTS: The average score of group A was 20 of 25 (11–25; 80%), whereas the average score of group B was 10 of 25 (4–13; 40%). There was significant difference between the groups (P = 0.00168877). CONCLUSION: We found that the preservation of rectus femoris is imperative for achieving the favorable functional outcome in total femur replacement.