While some bone surgeons are satisfied with restoring mobility, Benevenia says this is not enough for him. Function is critical, but it's a sterile measure of success. We see what we've accomplished through the patients' eyes. We have to be creative. I use what materials and procedures work best and tailor the reconstruction to the person.
Bone cancer strikes more frequently in childhood and adolescence than adulthood.
About half of these tumors pop up in the region of the knee. So before reconstruction is even contemplated, the child will usually undergo chemotherapy. These treatments will then resume when surgery is completed. Ron Zucker was 15 when his osteosarcoma was diagnosed in February 1998. Pain in his leg sent him to the doctor.