Recent advances in reconstructive surgery for bone and soft tissue sarcomas.

We present the current perspective on reconstructive surgery for soft tissue tumors, especially in the extremities, based on our large series. A total of 1,813 patients with bone and soft tissue sarcomas underwent surgery at our hospital between 1978 and 2011. Reconstructive operations were performed by plastic surgeons. In such reconstructive surgery, to achieve better quality of life for the patient, great effort was made not only for limb salvage but also for functional reconstruction. Although a few surgeries resulted in limb amputation due to multiple tumors, recurrence, or advanced age of the patient, the rate of limb salvage and/or functional recovery has been increasing dramatically using the method of flap surgery and vascular reconstruction. In fact, over more than 30 years, the limb salvage rate at our hospital has increased from 71.6 % around 1980 to 90.5 % around 2010. In this article, we describe our experience in plastic and reconstructive surgeries after operation for bone and soft tissue sarcomas.