The majority involves the extremities and thankfully, an amputation can be avoided 90% of the time. Ideally, the surgeon will strive for a 2cm gross margin, taking periosteum from the bone, but rarely needing to resect bone. Lymph node resection is usually unnecessary. Drains are typically left in. A low threshold for postoperative radiation should be employed, especially high grade (aggressive), large tumors (>5cm), or close margins on nerves, blood vessels, or bone. The mortality is under 1%, and most complications involve wound healing, or the collection of fluid in the wound bed (seroma).

​

Retroperitoneal sarcomas grow deep within the abdomen and obtain large sizes before diagnosis. These are commonly removed through midline incisions, most often needing to remove additional organs (kidney, small bowel, colon, pancreas, stomach, or spleen). The complication rate is dictated by the organ that is removed. The local recurrence rate (chance of tumor coming back in the abdomen) approaches 70%.