Frequently Asked Questions About Orthopaedic Oncology
What is orthopaedic oncology?
Orthopaedic oncology is a specialized field of medicine focused on the treatment of tumors and cancers that affect the bones, cartilage, fibrous tissues, muscles, nervous tissues, soft tissues, and vessels.
What conditions are treated?
We treat the full range of orthopaedic tumors and cancers, including sarcomas, chondrosarcomas, osteosarcomas, metastatic cancer of the bones, multiple myelomas, malignant bone tumors, benign bone tumors, and all types of soft-tissue tumors.
Do you treat benign orthopaedic tumors?
We treat benign orthopaedic tumors of all kinds, including osteoid osteomas, blastomas, enchondromas, fibromas, bone cysts, and giant cell tumors.
Dr. Anna Wallace provides specialized follow-up care and monitoring for benign orthopaedic tumors conveniently close to home in East Tennessee.
What makes a bone tumor malignant or benign?
Malignant tumors usually grow faster and have a tendency to metastasize, or spread to other areas of the body. Benign tumors have a much slower growth rate and may not need to be surgically removed for a long time, though they will need to be monitored regularly for growth.
Do you offer care for adult and pediatric patients?
Yes, our orthopaedic oncology specialist sees and treats orthopaedic oncology patients of all ages.
Will I need surgery?
This depends on the type and stage of orthopaedic cancer you have. Some tumors can be treated through nonsurgical methods like radiation and chemotherapy. Others may require these methods in combination with surgical intervention, while some only require surgical treatment for effective removal.
Who is an orthopaedic oncology specialist?
Orthopaedic oncology specialists are orthopaedic surgeons who have additional training and experience in the treatment of bone, joint, and muscle cancer and tumors.
Orthopaedic oncology specialists are often fellowship-trained to further their specialized expertise in this field, which is true for our own specialist, Dr. Wallace.
What’s fellowship training?
For orthopaedic surgeons, fellowship training involves a year of dedicated training in a subspecialty field within orthopaedics. This means that in addition to medical school and at least five years of specialized training in bone, joint, and muscle care during an orthopaedic residency, a fellowship-trained orthopaedic doctor has also completed extra training to further specialize in a subspecialty such as orthopaedic trauma, orthopaedic oncology, or another area.
Why is fellowship training important?
Fellowship-trained orthopaedic doctors have had intensive training in their subspecialty area and have achieved greater skill and deeper understanding to better care for their patients.
Dr. Wallace has completed two fellowships: one in orthopaedic trauma surgery and one in orthopaedic oncology. This means that she has completed extensive training pertaining to her specialized field, giving her the expertise to offer her patients the latest in evidence-based treatment and the highest level of care.
Will I need to bring anything to my appointment?
Please reference our Appointment Resources page for everything you will need to prepare for your appointment.
Your Treatment Matters
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Patient Success Stories
Jennifer E.
“[My son and I] literally went from going to school that morning and thinking it was just growing pains to being sent that afternoon to our local hospital to have an MRI because it looked like cancer. . . Dr. Wallace was very compassionate. You could tell both Dr. Wallace and her physician assistant, Christy Rose, were concerned about this 12-year-old child who was having to go through this. [Now] he’s doing great. He’s growing . . . Other than his incision, you would never know he had anything wrong with him.”