The Decision to Have Limb Sparing Surgery
Dr. Raphael Pollock: The relationship between a patient and their sarcoma surgeon is one that has to be based on trust. So when a surgeon advocates that a patient's situation is one in which a limb salvage may be possible, it's very, very important for the surgeon and the patient to converge on a shared definition of what that entails.
It's impossible to guarantee that, after an operation, the function of the involved extremity will be exactly as it was before the surgery or as effective as an extremity as the contra lateral matched structure. Having said that, most sarcoma surgeons are able to very accurately depict the type of deficit that may be incurred, so that a patient can make an informed decision about whether or not limb salvage is their best option.