Encyclopedia of Cancer | Limb Salvage

Definition

Limb salvage is a type of surgery that removes a cancerous tumor or lesion while preserving the nearby muscles, tendons, and blood vessels.

Purpose

Doctors perform limb salvage to remove cancer and avoid amputation, while preserving the patient's appearance and the greatest possible degree of function in the affected limb. The procedure is most commonly performed for bone tumors and bone sarcomas, but is also commonly performed for soft tissue sarcomas affecting the extremities.

This complex alternative to amputation is used to cure cancers that are slow to spread from the limb where they...