Hemipelvectomy

Hemipelvectomy, also called pelvic resection, is the surgical removal of part of the pelvic girdle, most often to treat a malignant bone tumor such as osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, or Ewing sarcoma that has grown into the pelvis. In an internal hemipelvectomy the surgeon removes the affected pelvic bone while preserving the leg, whereas an external hemipelvectomy also removes the leg itself, which becomes necessary when the tumor has grown into the sciatic nerve and the limb can no longer be saved. Surgeons occasionally perform the operation for severe trauma or bone infection rather than cancer, but these cases are uncommon.