Surgical Bioabsorbable Polyglycolic Acid Spacer Placement for Two Boys With Ewing Sarcoma

Abstract

We report our experience of surgical spacer placement (SSP) using a bioabsorbable polyglycolic acid spacer for children with Ewing sarcoma requiring proton beam therapy. [Case 1] A 1-year-old boy diagnosed with iliac Ewing sarcoma underwent SSP by transverse abdominal incision. The spacer was inserted by mobilizing the descending colon. [Case 2] A 9-year-old boy diagnosed with sacral Ewing sarcoma underwent SSP by a laparoscopic procedure. At the time of this writing, no complications were observed. Reduction of the intestinal radiation dose was possible by SSP; thus, SSP can be considered minimally invasive and safe. The spacers disappeared within four months after the surgery on the magnetic resonance imaging scans in cases 1 and 2. An additional laparoscopic procedure may be helpful, depending on where the spacer is placed.