Reconstruction of the elbow with distal humerus endoprosthetic replacement after tumor resection – A systematic review of the literature and institutional case series

Background Distal humerus replacement (DHR) is a modular endoprosthesis mainly used for bone reconstruction after resection of primary or metastatic bone lesions. Studies on DHR failure rates and postoperative functional outcomes are scarce. We sought to assess implant survival, modes of failure and functional outcomes in patients undergoing DHR for oncologic indications. Methods A systematic review of the PubMed and Embase databases was performed. PRISMA guidelines were followed for this manuscript. Our study was registered on PROSPERO (457260). Quality appraisal of included studies was conducted using the STROBE checklist. Prosthetic failure was assessed using the Henderson classification for megaprosthetic failures. We additionally performed a retrospective review of patients treated with a DHR for oncologic indications at a large tertiary care academic center. Weighted means were calculated to pool data. Results Eleven studies with a total of 162 patients met the inclusion criteria. Mean follow-up was 3.7 years (range, 1.66 to 8 years). Henderson type 2 failures (aseptic loosening) were the most common mode of failure, occurring in 12% of cases (range, 0 to 33%). Five-year implant survival was 72% (range, 49 to 93.7%). Mean postoperative Musculoskeletal Tumor Society (MSTS) score was 81.1 (range, 74 to 84.3). In our institutional case series, two out of five patients had DHR revision for periprosthetic fracture and aseptic loosening at 16 and 27 months after surgery, respectively. Conclusions Distal humerus replacement is a successful reconstruction strategy for tumors of the distal humerus, with high implant survival and good to excellent functional outcomes.