Department of Orthopaedic Surgery

Purple Zone

Manchester Royal Infirmary
Telephone

Fax:0161 276 5069.

What do we do?
The service, based at Manchester Royal Infirmary treats and supports patients who are thought to have, or who have been diagnosed with, sarcoma of the limbs. The service works closely with the Sarcoma Unit at the Christie Hospital and is actively involved in research studies.

Patients with suspected bone sarcomas are referred to Mr Paul Cool at the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic and District Hospital NHS Trust, Oswestry.

Who are we? back to top of page

Helen Murray

0161 276 8799

(Secretary)

0161 276 8590

0161 276 8799

(Secretary)

Multi-disciplinary team meetings are held on Monday afternoons and on alternate Wednesdays. Patients who have been newly referred to the service are discussed at this meeting.

The soft tissue service has links with the Palliative Care Team

What if I think I might have a sarcoma? back to top of page
The Referral Guidelines for Suspected Cancer is a guide for doctors, to help ensure that the patient is seen quickly if the doctor thinks he or she may have cancer. Information about the guidelines can be seen by clicking here

You will also find information about what to look out for, and tests that may be carried out if your doctor thinks you might have a sarcoma.

If you are worried that you might have a sarcoma, you should go and see your family doctor (GP) as soon as possible. Your GP will then decide whether you should be sent to see a doctor who specialises in sarcomas.

Referral criteria and contact procedures back to top of page
All urgent referrals should be faxed to the booking centre by the patient's GP, on 0161 443 0632 using the urgent referral form (click here ). As soon as the patient is referred, any scan or x-ray reports need to be sent urgently to the department.

Patients are then contacted by the Clinical Nurse Specialist who will arrange an appointment with the patient. Where possible, patients who are referred urgently are seen within 2 weeks.

Clinic days and times back to top of page
Clinics are held in the Orthopaedic out-patients department, which is in the purple zone at Manchester Royal Infirmary, on the following days:

Monday p.m.

Mr Khan

Wednesday p.m.

Mr Paul

Treatment back to top of page
Treatment for sarcoma will depend on the grade (how like normal tissue the tumour cells are) and stage of the tumour (whether it has spread to other areas). The treatment for cancer is decided on an individual basis, so the treatment may not be the same for everyone. In some situations other treatments may be given, but it is more common place for surgery to be the first treatment choice for soft tissue sarcomas of the extremity.

Surgery is carried out at Manchester Royal Infirmary. Patients are admitted to Ward 2 for surgery. The telephone number for the unit is 0161 276 4051. All patients who undergo surgery for a sarcoma are referred to the Christie.

A lot of people with cancer worry that if they go to the Christie Hospital for treatment it means their cancer must be worse. This is not true. Many of the teams at Central Manchester work closely with the doctors at the Christie Hospital. This means that some people go to the Christie Hospital for treatment not because their cancer is worse but because that is where the doctors are based. All patients needing radiotherapy go to the Christie Hospital. This is because that is where the radiotherapy machines are.

Useful links

(click on the link to take you to the information)

Information about sarcomas produced by Cancer Research UK

Information produced by the Christie Hospital about treatment of sarcomas