Clinical and functional outcomes of the saddle prosthesis.

BACKGROUND: The implantation of a saddle prosthesis after resection of a pelvic tumor has been proposed as a simple method of reconstruction that provides good stability and reduces the surgical time, thus limits the onset of intraoperative complications. There are no studies in the literature of patients evaluated using gait analysis after being implanted with a saddle prosthesis. The present study is a retrospective case review aimed at illustrating long-term clinical and functional findings in tumor patients reconstructed with a saddle prosthesis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A series of 15 patients who received pelvic reconstruction with a saddle prosthesis were retrospectively reviewed in terms of clinical, radiographic, and functional evaluations. Two patients were additionally assessed by gait analysis. RESULTS: Long-term functional follow-up was achieved in only 6 patients, and ranged from 97 to 167 months. Function was found to be rather impaired, as a mean of only 57 % of normal activity was restored. Gait analysis demonstrated that the implant had poor biomechanics, as characterized by very limited hip motion. CONCLUSIONS: Though the saddle prosthesis was proposed as advance in tumor-related pelvic surgery, the present study indicates that it yields unsatisfactory clinical and functional results due to both clinical complications and the poor biomechanics of the device. The use of a saddle prosthesis in tumor surgery did not provide satisfactory results in long-term follow-up. It is no longer implanted at our institute, and is currently considered a "salvage technique."