Rare Surgery After Cancer Saves Young Boy’s Leg

Many kids experience growing pains in their legs – cramping leg muscle pains that most children outgrow within a few years. At four years old, Liam Waldron’s aches were not going away. In fact, they turned into his parents’ worst fear. Cleveland Clinic doctors diagnosed Liam with an aggressive form of bone cancer in his left femur called osteosarcoma.

After 10 weeks of chemotherapy treatment, Liam and his parents, Gerry and Wendy Waldron, met with Michael Joyce, MD, an orthopaedic surgeon at Cleveland Clinic, to see if he would need surgery. Dr. Joyce explained the chemotherapy was working, but it wasn’t pulling the tumor far enough away from the knee to be able to save the bone.

Dr. Joyce said an operation called rotationplasty was Liam’s best chance at beating the disease and being active again. The procedure involves amputating part of the leg above the knee while saving the nerves and vessels. A surgeon then rotates the shinbone, foot, and ankle and reattaches the limb to the remaining thigh bone.

“I was very hesitant when Dr. Joyce first suggested this procedure,” Wendy said. “A lot of kids don’t opt for that because of the way it looks, but anyone who does the research will realize that the functionality is amazing.”

In November 2014, Dr. Joyce performed the rotationplasty surgery to amputate part of Liam’s left thigh and knee.

“There’s a light at the end of the tunnel that we can save a leg, make it a functional leg, make it such that he can potentially even play sports,” said Dr. Joyce.

About one week after surgery, Liam began learning how to use a walker. “His balance was different at first, but he worked so hard every day while he was in the rehab hospital,” said Wendy.

Liam had to take a break from rehab to undergo an additional 18 weeks of chemotherapy. He experienced a number of side effects, including hair loss, but he kept persisting through it so he could continue the therapy he needed to restore his balance.

By June 2015, Dr. Joyce cleared Liam to get fitted for a special prosthetic leg that would accommodate his new limb.

“This type of a prosthesis takes many alterations to get the perfect fit,” said Dr. Joyce. Liam experienced a few setbacks along the way. Now, his ankle functions like a knee and his foot and thigh bear the weight of his specially designed prosthetic leg.

“We got the new prosthetic in January 2017, and he has just taken off since then,” said Wendy. “Plus, he also got cleared to finally run and jump, so it’s been an exciting year.”

Liam, who is now eight years old, is cancer free and an energetic second grader.

“He’s happy and he’s running and he’s having fun with his friends. That’s all I could ever hope for,” said Wendy.

Liam still has work to do building strength in his reattached foot and ankle, but with physical therapy, he can actively go back to doing what he loves most. He’s already been running on the field, playing in his first baseball league.