Reconstruction of the pelvis after traumatically induced bilateral partial hemipelvectomy: a case report

BACKGROUND: Traumatic hemipelvectomy is a catastrophic fracture of the pelvis as a result of high-energy trauma, such as in a car accident. There have been few case reports of traumatic hemipelvectomy because many of these patients die before they are transferred to a hospital. However, an increasing number of patients are being saved and admitted to hospital due to improvements in resuscitation and the emergency response system. Accordingly, there has been a growing body of reports on the management and reconstruction of traumatic hemipelvectomy. CASE PRESENTATION: A healthy 20-year-old Japanese man was trapped beneath a 3-ton steel frame while working on a crane. We describe here a very challenging case of traumatically induced bilateral partial hemipelvectomy with successful reconstruction of our patient’s pelvis using a unilateral anterolateral thigh flap. CONCLUSION: To the best of our knowledge, there have been few reports of bilateral hemipelvectomy and our case is the first to be successfully treated with a unilateral anterolateral thigh flap.