We report the results of vertebral column resection (VCR) for paediatric patients with spinal deformity. A total of 49 VCRs in paediatric patients from four university hospitals between 2005 and 2009 with a minimum two-year follow-up were retrospectively identified. After excluding single hemivertebral resections (n = 25) and VCRs performed for patients with myelomeningocele (n = 6), as well as spondylectomies performed for tumour (n = 4), there were 14 patients who had undergone full VCR at a mean age of 12.3 years (6.5 to 17.9). The aetiology was congenital scoliosis in five, neuromuscular scoliosis in three, congenital kyphosis in two, global kyphosis in two, adolescent idiopathic scoliosis in one and secondary scoliosis in one. A total of seven anteroposterior and seven posterolateral approaches were used. The mean major curve deformity was 86° (67° to 120°) pre-operatively and 37° (17° to 80°) at the two-year follow-up; correction was a mean of 54% (18% to 86%) in the anteroposterior and 60% (41% to 70%) in the posterolateral group at the two-year follow-up (p = 0.53). The mean Scoliosis Research Society-24 total scores were 100 (92 to 108) for the anteroposterior and 102 (95 to 105) for the posterolateral group. There was one paraparesis in the anteroposterior group necessitating urgent re-decompression, with a full recovery. Patients undergoing VCR are highly satisfied after a successful procedure.

The 10-year overall survival of children and adolescents diagnosed with a bone sarcoma in Finland during 1991 to 2005 was very good, at 82% if the disease was localised at diagnosis and 47% if it was metastatic at diagnosis.

Population-based studies including both bone and soft tissue ESFTs are few. In this nationwide, population-based study on Finnish bone and soft tissue ESFT patients, we find their treatment successful and results comparable to those previously published. Absence of metastases, young age at diagnosis and a peripheral primary tumor site were associated with a better prognosis. It seems that surgical resection of the primary tumor should be performed whenever adequate resection margins can be achieved. The role of high dose chemotherapy merits further studies in this setting.

Residual tumor after curative intent therapy in patients with Ewing's sarcoma is of great clinical significance. Surgeons use the resection margin to indicate the completeness of a surgical excision. However, this margin may be either nonviable/necrotic or viable. This systematic review examines the 5‐year event‐free survival rate and local recurrence as a function of positive resection margins that are nonviable/necrotic versus those that are viable. Multiple databases were searched using the Ovid interface. After full text screening, 45 articles that reported either margin or postchemotherapy histology and one or more outcomes of interest were identified, and two articles reported on margin and histology simultaneously. An attempt was made to contact the remaining authors and one author was able to provide additional data. The data from the three studies suggest that prognosis in ES depends on both margin involvement and the postchemotherapy histological response simultaneously. However, radiation therapy likely improves local control in patients with inadequate surgical margins, regardless of histological response. This is an area where there is a paucity of evidence that needs to be rectified to ensure that ES patients are provided the highest quality of evidence‐based care.