In Lviv, doctors from three cities successfully performed a rare operation – rotational plastic surgery.
In order to preserve the functionality of 18-year-old Yulia’s leg with bone cancer, surgeons removed the middle part of the limb and sewed the lower part back on. This was reported by the St. Nicholas Children’s Hospital.
Since the cancer had spread to the knee joint, the girl could have needed a high-level amputation of her leg. Nevertheless, doctors from Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv and Kyiv decided to perform rotational plastic surgery to keep the limb as functional as possible.
Rotational plastic surgery is a surgical intervention for children who have a part of their leg removed along with the knee due to bone cancer. The lower part of the limb with the foot is rotated 180 degrees and sutured backwards to the thigh bone.
Thus, the foot begins to play the role of a knee, which subsequently allows the prosthesis to be fitted and preserve the sensitivity and mobility of the limb.
The surgeons removed the bones affected by the sarcoma and examined the tissues for malignancy right during the operation to make sure they were completely removing the tumor. After that, the doctors fused the femur and tibia, turning the latter 180 degrees and fixing them with a metal plate and plaster.
The patient has already returned to Ivano-Frankivsk and continues chemotherapy treatment. After her leg is fully healed, she will undergo prosthetics.
