Limb Salvage Surgery in Osteosarcoma of the Femur Using Liquid-Nitrogen-Frozen Free Femur Autograft in a Developing Country

INTRODUCTION: Limb salvage is a technically demanding and capital intensive procedure. In low-income countries, amputation followed by prosthesis use is widely used for the treatment of limb malignancies. This is associated with considerable morbidity and frequent non-adherence to prosthetic use. Therefore, we are reporting a case of osteosarcoma of the femur treated by the use of pre-operative chemotherapy, followed by frozen free femur autograft and intramedullary nailing, with excellent radiologic and functional results at 1 year of follow-up, in a developing country. CASE REPORT: A 16-year-old female presented with the left thigh swelling and pain for 3 months. X-ray of the left femur showed an osteosclerotic tumor in the medial aspect of the middle third of the left femur, diagnosed as osteogenic sarcoma on biopsy. Pre-operative chemotherapy was given. En bloc resection of the tumor was done. The cleaned femur shaft was frozen in liquid nitrogen, reimplanted, and stabilized with an intramedullary nail. One year after surgery, the femur osteotomy sites are fully united and the patient is fully ambulant, without evidence of metastasis or recurrence. CONCLUSION: This case describes the successful use of a free frozen autograft of the femur in a 16-year-old girl with osteosarcoma of the left femur, done in a developing country, Kenya. It demonstrates the feasibility of limb salvage using this technique in low-income countries.