A nine-year-old Bangladeshi girl, suffering from bone cancer and advised amputation, recently underwent a complicated limb-saving surgery at a city hospital. Now back on her feet, Ramisa Uddin wants to study medicine and become a doctor.

“Though rare, bone cancer commonly affects young adults between 10 and 25 years, and thus, has a huge societal impact. Moreover, many patients such as Ramisa either undergo amputation or the cosmetically disfiguring rotationplasty. If a standard adult prosthesis is used for paediatric patients, the bone growth is often restricted and the patient’s one leg permanently remains shorter,” said Dr Manish Agarwal, director, Surgical Oncology (Orthopaedic), Nanavati Max Super Speciality Hospital, Mumbai, while discussing the major complications of paediatric bone cancer management.