In Vitro and In Vivo Experiments of a Lengthening Element for a Modular Femur Endoprosthetic System

Malignant bone tumors often are encountered in the femur and in the knee area of children. When treated by adjuvant chemotherapy and local resection of the involved bone and adjacent tissue, the resected bone and joint can be replaced by an endoprosthesis [2]. A disadvantageous consequence of this treatment is that the other, normal leg grows much more than the resected leg. For this reason, a joint team from Groningen University Hospital and the University of Twente embarked upon a project to develop a femur endoprosthetic system that includes an element of adjustable length to match the growth of the other leg.