KnotesFree Orthopaedic & FRCS notes, viva stations and higher order SBAs

Metastatic bone Disease

Must KnowApplied Basic SciencesthinKbox SBA

Talk

  • Where is the lesion?
  • How big it is?
  • What is the tumor doing? Wide/narrow margin of transition
  • What is the bone doing in response?
    • Zone of transition
    • Periosteal reaction
  • Is the lesion making matrix?
  • Is cortex eroded?
  • Is there soft tissue mass?

Approach

  • Screen for the primary:
    • history and examination
    • Lab tests: FBC, electrophoresis,Biochemical markers
    • Imaging: ct chest abdomen and pelvis
  • Get more information about lesion
    • Xray
    • CT,MRI, Isotope scan
  • Biopsy if primary source cannot be identified
  • Never assume a solitary lesion to be metastasis
  • Do not rush to fix
  • MDT approach

Presentation

  • A/C admission: Fracture/neurological compromise
  • Ref by oncologist
  • Unexplained MS Pain

Role of Orthopaedic surgeon in MDT

  • Biopsy
    • Solitary
    • Primary unknown
    • Long disease free interval
    • More than 1 cancer
  • Surgical treatment of metastasis for pain and to prevent fracture
  • Stabilise/reconstruct pathological fracture
  • Decompress spinal cord and nerve roots and stabilise spine

Aims of surgery

  • Primary tumor should be excluded
  • Immediate stability and allow wt bearing
  • Assume fracture may not unite
  • Fixation should last life time of patient
  • All lesions should be stabilised

expectancy

  • <12 mo: fixation
  • 12 mo: endoprosthetic

Risk of fracture

  • Mirel
  • Pain (Most important)
  • Type of lesion
  • Location
  • Size
  • 9 risk of pathological fracture more, suggesting fixation

Appropriateness of operation

  • Biological age
  • Functional ability
  • Comorbidities and ASA grade
  • Patient motivation and life expectancy

General considerations

  • Optimise comorbidities
  • Hypercalcemia, fluid and electrolytes
  • Xray entire affected bone
  • MDT
  • Preop embolisation
  • VTE prophylaxis
  • Analgesia

Hip

  • Head, neck: Cemented semi
  • Subtr
    • limited loss: Nail
    • Extensive: end prosthetic
  • No BG

Pelvis: periacetabular

  • Debulk
  • Fill or bypass the defect
  • Durable joint reconstruction
  • Harrington classification
    • 1:Intact walls
    • II:Deficient medial wall
    • III: All walls are affected
    • IV: Solitary

SPINE

  • Back pain in isolation
  • Inpending neurology
  • Complete neurology
  • Extradural tumors are metastatic
  • Intra dural extra medullary are benign
  • Intramedullary are malignant

Risk assessment

  • Tokuhasi
  • 9 indicate longer life

    • General condition
    • Neurology
    • No of bony spinal mets
    • No of extra spinal bony mets
    • No of visceral mets
    • Tissue of origin

Timing

  • with in 24 hr of neurology
  • with in 7 days of mechanical instability

Written/reviewed by Kishore Puthezhath

Professor of Orthopaedics and Consultant Paediatric Orthopaedic Surgeon

FRCS (Tr & Orth) revision resource

Reviewed: September 2026