Results of hemipelvectomy for soft tissue sarcoma

From a series of 89 patients treated with hemipelvectomy at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center during the period 1972--1976, 16 patients with soft tissue sarcoma are discussed. Three patients were operated on for palliative reasons. Most of the remaining 13 patients underwent a hemipelvectomy after other more conservative procedures had failed to control the disease. Mortality rate was zero; the morbidity 50%, but all complications responded to conservative treatment except for two patients with postoperative hemorrhage. The results are discussed, as is the rehabilitation of the patients. Hemipelvectomy seems to have a place in palliative treatment of patients with soft tissue sarcoma. The one-year cumulative survival rate of 69.2% and the five-year cumulative survival rate of 42.6% appear to justify hemipelvectomy for highly selected patients with soft tissue sarcoma who cannot otherwise be treated successfully.