Hemicorporectomy: a case study from a physical therapy perspective.

Hemicorporectomy, literally translated, means half (hemi), body (corpus), removal (ectomy). The procedure is indicated as a last resort measure for patients with life-threatening conditions such as advanced pelvic tumors, pelvic osteomyelitis, crushing pelvic trauma, or intractable decubiti in the pelvic region. We report a case in which this mutilating procedure was performed on a 49-year-old man with extensive perineal and sacral sores. Squamous cell carcinoma was detected and isolated to the pelvic region. His medical history was significant for paraplegia secondary to a gunshot wound in 1966. The literature has documented fewer than 45 procedures of this radical nature. Few of the case studies specifically address the rehabilitation of this patient population and none of the articles researched were written from a physical therapy standpoint. Articles that addressed the concept of rehabilitation comment only that the course of rehabilitation was extensive and prolonged. This report provides an overview of the surgical procedures and specifically addresses the physical rehabilitation of this patient after his hemicorporectomy from a physical therapy perspective. This patient's physical therapy was accomplished over a time span of less than 1 month.