ABSTRACT
The usual surgical treatment for patients who have osteogenic sarcoma of the humerus is forequarter amputation. Hence, a prosthetic shoulder is needed in order to compensate for the resulting deformity. Occasionally, female patients must also undergo a radical mastectomy and as a result require a comination breast-shoulder prosthesis. The occupational therapy staff at M.D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute devised a procedure for the construction of shoulder and/or breast prostheses. Methods of fabrication and problems encountered are discussed. As medical treatments improve and survival times are lengthened, more cancer patients will require rehabilitation services. This article may provide assistance for therapists who are faced with similar problems in the rehabilitative process.
