Tumor Prosthesis for the Shoulder

Abstract

We are indebted to Albee [1] for introducing the surgical replacement of the resected proximal humerus. He used the head and proximal portion of the fibula for this purpose, but his results were not convincing. In the early 1950s, surgeons mainly in the U. S. began to use prostheses for replacement of the upper humerus. Venable [6], for example, described in 1952 a Vitallium prosthesis that was anchored in the humerus by means of a stem combined with a sheath and screws. R. Mathys [4] introduced a new type of shoulder tumor prosthesis made of plastic (polyacetal resin). We have used this type since 1972 because it offers significant advantages over metallic prostheses - most notably the ability to reattach osteotomized tendon insertions to the prosthesis with screws.