Hemicorporectomy

Hemicorporectomy is a radical last-resort surgery that amputates the body below the waist, cutting through the lumbar spine and removing the legs, the pelvic bones, the genitals, and the bladder, anus, and rectum. Surgeons perform it only when cancer has spread uncontrollably through the spinal cord and pelvis, when severe pelvic trauma such as an open-book fracture cannot be repaired, or when an infection or ulceration in the pelvic region threatens to cause fatal sepsis and no less drastic treatment can control it. The operation is exceptionally rare, with only 79 cases recorded in medical literature as of 2025, and is reserved for patients who face death from their underlying condition without it.