British surgeons are repairing muscles damaged by aggressive cancer with a groundbreaking procedure
Surgeons have devised a technique that can reverse debilitating muscle damage caused by aggressive cancer.
Every year, more than 4,000 people develop a high-grade sarcoma, a form of cancer that can affect the muscles. The tumors form in the upper arms and surgery leaves patients unable to use their biceps muscles.
But surgeons at Southmead Hospital in Bristol have now developed a groundbreaking procedure to help patients regain mobility.
This involves taking muscle tissue from the back and implanting it in the arm to form a new bicep.
New research, to be presented at next week’s meeting of the British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (BAPRAS), shows that patients can bend their arm three months after surgery.
Experts say the technique, called functional pedicled latissimus dorsi biceps reconstruction, could revolutionize the way the aggressive cancer is treated by the NHS.
High-grade sarcomas also spread into bone and cartilage, meaning invasive surgery is often needed to treat it, which involves removing significant portions of muscle and tissue.
Due to its severity, surgeons prioritize saving the lives of elderly patients with high-grade sarcomas rather than ensuring they have full muscle function.
New research, to be presented at next week’s meeting of the British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (BAPRAS), shows that patients can bend their arm three months after surgery (Stock Image)
Surgeons at Southmead Hospital in Bristol have now developed a groundbreaking procedure to help patients regain mobility (Stock Image)
It means that many patients treated for the disease lose the ability to bend their arm, making it difficult for them to continue living independently.
During the new procedure, performed for the first time by plastic surgery consultants Giulia Colavitti and Rachel Clancy, muscle pieces are removed from the lats (latissimus dorsi), which runs from the middle to the lower back. Then, strands of the muscle are woven into the arm to create a replacement bicep.
It does not have the full strength or flexibility of the original muscle, but the new tissue creates a lever that allows the patient to bend the elbow and perform basic tasks such as eating.
BAPRAS chairman Mani Ragbir said: ‘We now have the opportunity to restore the patient’s biceps, and thus his independence.’