Center for Orthopedic Oncology

Lev Naot Center for Orthopedic Oncology provides comprehensive care including diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up for cancer of the bone and soft connective tissue.

The multidisciplinary Assuta specialists are leaders in orthopedic oncology, and Lev Naot is among the top sarcoma treatment centers in Israel.

What is orthopedic oncology?

The Center for Orthopedic Oncology at Assuta cares for cancers of the musculoskeletal system – which includes bones and the soft tissue that surrounds them. Benign (non-cancerous) tumors grow in different shapes and locations in the bones and soft tissues. Malignant (cancerous) tumors, called sarcomas, are categorized into bone malignancies or soft tissue sarcomas.

The center diagnoses and treats the following medical conditions:

  • Primary bone cancer
  • Soft tissue sarcomas
  • Metastatic cancers that spread to the bone
  • Orthopedic problems caused by cancer

Treatment goals

Treatment by specialist orthopedic oncologists, beginning with acting upon the initial suspicion and diagnosing the disease quickly significantly increases the patient’s chances of receiving optimal care. Key care goals include:

  • Preserving the limb and preventing amputation
  • Restoring full limb mobility
  • Improving the patient’s overall quality of life

Lev Naot team of professionals

Personalized diagnosis and treatment at Assuta are performed by the multidisciplinary team, which includes:

  • Orthopedic surgeon: Diagnoses the condition, performs the biopsy (removes a bone or tissue sample), and performs the surgery, if necessary, to remove the tumor and affected tissues.
  • Oncologist: When relevant, prescribes patient therapies such as chemotherapy, monitors its administration, and tracks patient progress
  • Radiologist: Provides the initial diagnosis of the disease using medical imaging, such as: X-rays, MRI scans, CT scans, bone scans, and other imaging techniques used to diagnose cancer
  • Radiation Oncologist: Specializes in the treatment of malignancies using radiotherapy techniques
  • Pathologist: The cell and tissue specialist who diagnoses tumor biopsy samples

Lev Naot innovative treatment methods

Assuta provides a range of solutions, depending on each person’s case, covering:

  • Various types of implants to replace bone that has been removed, such as bone grafts that can be manually or electrically lengthened
  • Cryotherapy – the use of freezing temperatures to eliminate cancerous tissue
  • Resection (removal) of cancerous tissue and reconstruction with the help of 3D technology for precision surgical simulation, surgical tool development, and 3D-printed implants
  • Minimally invasive surgeries, such as radiofrequency ablation, which uses electrical energy and heat to destroy cancer cells; navigation devices for treating benign tumors; and MRI-guided cryotherapy

Types of surgeries performed

Assuta physicians perform the following orthopedic oncology procedures, among others:

  • Extensive resection of tumors from a bone, cartilage, or other soft tissue source
  • Replacement of joints (hips, knees, shoulders) after extensive resection
  • Bone or fracture fixation after resection, including the insertion of an intramedullary rod
  • Personalized implants/prosthetic customized to the location of the disease and the condition of the bone
  • Soft tissue reconstruction by skin grafts or muscle flaps according to the clinical need
  • Image-guided minimally invasive surgery to treat metastases and other skeletal lesions
  • Cryotherapy of soft tissue tumors

For more information on surgeries for sarcoma, click here.