Extracorporeally irradiated autografts for the treatment of bone tumours: tips and tricks

We retrospectively reviewed 107 patients with 108 malignant or locally aggressive bone tumours treated between 1978 and 2009 by extracorporeal irradiation with 300 Gy to eradicate the tumour, and reimplantation of the bone as an orthotopic autograft. Patient subgroups were defined according to resection type. We describe the local recurrence rate, the graft infection rate and the factors affecting graft healing and graft survival. No local...