Traumatic hemipelvectomy in combination with traumatic amputation of an upper extremity

This is a report of a 16-year-old survivor of a traumatic hemipelvectomy in combination with an amputation of the upper extremity on the ipsilateral side. The injury was caused when the patient fell under a railroad train. There were associated injuries of the genitourinary tract and the rectum. Factors that contributed to the patient's survival were: 1) the excellent care he received at the scene of the accident by the paramedics of the regional emergency care system; 2) a rapid transportation to the hospital by a life flight helicopter; and 3) a concentrated effort by the general surgery, plastic surgery, and urologic surgery teams in providing vigorous, sustained, and comprehensive preoperative, operative, and postoperative care.