Surgeons have devised a technique that can reverse debilitating muscle damage caused by aggressive cancer.
Each year, more than 4,000 people develop high-grade sarcoma, a form of cancer that can affect the muscles. Tumors form in the upper arms and surgery can leave patients unable to use their biceps muscles.
But surgeons at Bristol’s Southmead Hospital have developed a pioneering procedure to restore mobility to patients.
It consists of taking muscle tissue from the back and implanting it in the arm to form a new biceps.
New research, which will be presented at the British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (BAPRAS) meeting next week, reveals that three months after surgery, patients can flex their arm.
Experts say the technique, called functional pedunculated latissimus dorsi biceps reconstruction, could revolutionize the way this aggressive cancer is treated on the NHS.
High-grade sarcomas also spread within bone and cartilage, meaning that invasive surgery is often required to treat them, which involves removing significant portions of muscle and tissue.
Because of their severity, surgeons prioritize saving the lives of elderly patients with high-grade sarcomas rather than ensuring they have full muscle function.
New research, which will be presented at the British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (BAPRAS) meeting next week, reveals that three months after surgery, patients can flex their arm (File image)

Surgeons at Bristol’s Southmead Hospital have developed a pioneering procedure to give patients mobility again (File Image)
It means that many patients receiving treatment for the disease lose the ability to bend their arm, making it difficult for them to continue living independently.
During the new procedure, performed for the first time by plastic surgery consultants Giulia Colavitti and Rachel Clancy, sections of muscle are taken from the latissimus dorsi (latissimus dorsi), which runs from the middle to the lower back. Strands of the muscle are then woven into the arm to create a replacement bicep.
It does not have all the strength or flexibility of the original muscle, but the new tissue creates leverage that allows the patient to bend the elbow and perform basic tasks such as eating.
BAPRAS president Mani Ragbir said: “We now have the option of restoring the patient’s biceps and therefore his independence.”