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What are Estimated Reimbursements for Lower Extremity Prostheses Capable of Surgical and Nonsurgical Lengthening?

  • Clinical Research
  • Published:
Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research®

Abstract

Background

Growing prostheses accommodate skeletally immature patients with bone tumors undergoing limb-preserving surgery. Early devices required surgical procedures for lengthening; recent devices lengthen without surgery. Expenses for newer expandable devices that lengthen without surgery are more than for their predecessors but overall reimbursement amounts are not known.

Questions/purposes

We sought to determine reimbursement amounts associated with lengthening of growing prostheses requiring surgical and nonsurgical lengthening.

Methods

We retrospectively reviewed 17 patients with growing prostheses requiring surgical expansion and eight patients with prostheses capable of nonsurgical expansion. Insurance documents were reviewed to determine the reimbursement for implantation, lengthening, and complications. Growth data were obtained from the literature.

Results

Mean reimbursement amounts of surgical and nonsurgical lengthenings were $9950 and $272, respectively. Estimated reimbursements associated with implantation of a growing prosthesis varied depending on age, sex, and location. The largest difference was found for 4-year-old boys with distal femoral replacement where reimbursement for expansion to maturity for surgical and nonsurgical lengthening prostheses would be $379,000 and $208,000, respectively. For children requiring more than one surgical expansion, net reimbursements were lower when a noninvasive lengthening device was used. Annual per-prosthesis maintenance reimbursements to address complications for surgical and nonsurgical lengthening prostheses were $3386 and $1856, respectively.

Conclusions

This study showed that reimbursements for lengthening of growing endoprostheses capable of nonsurgical expansion may be less expensive in younger patients, particularly male patients undergoing distal femur replacement, than endoprostheses requiring surgical lengthening. Longer outcomes studies are required to see if reimbursements for complications differ between devices.

Level of Evidence

Level III, economic and decision analysis. See the Guidelines for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

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Acknowledgments

We thank David Johnson, PA-C for his continued dedication and care for our pediatric patients.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine, University of South Florida, 13220 Laurel Drive, MDF 5th Floor, MDC 6, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA

    Eric R. Henderson MD & Andrew M. Pepper BS

  2. Sarcoma Program, Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, FL, USA

    G. Douglas Letson MD

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  1. Eric R. Henderson MD
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  2. Andrew M. Pepper BS
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  3. G. Douglas Letson MD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Eric R. Henderson MD.

Additional information

Each author certifies that he or she has no commercial associations (eg, consultancies, stock ownership, equity interest, patent/licensing arrangements, etc) that might pose a conflict of interest in connection with the submitted article. One of the authors (GDL) is a design consultant for Stryker Corp (Mahwah, NJ, USA) but does not receive royalties of any kind for the devices that are the subject of this manuscript.

All ICMJE Conflict of Interest Forms for authors and Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research editors and board members are on file with the publication and can be viewed on request.

Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research neither advocates nor endorses the use of any treatment, drug, or device. Readers are encouraged to always seek additional information, including FDA-approval status, of any drug or device prior to clinical use.

Each author certifies that his or her institution approved the human protocol for this investigation, that all investigations were conducted in conformity with ethical principles of research, and that informed consent for participation in the study was obtained.

This work was performed at Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, and All Children’s Hospital, St Petersburg, FL.

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Henderson, E.R., Pepper, A.M. & Letson, G.D. What are Estimated Reimbursements for Lower Extremity Prostheses Capable of Surgical and Nonsurgical Lengthening?. Clin Orthop Relat Res 470, 1194–1203 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11999-011-2186-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11999-011-2186-2

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