INTERNAL HEMIPELVECTOMY IN THE TREATMENT OF RECURRENT CARCINOMA OF THE COLON - REPORT OF A CASE

PURPOSE: Although extended surgery has been established as an effectiv e method for the treatment of advanced carcinoma of the colon, there a re no reports in the literature of en bloc resection of the tumor toge ther with the iliac bone. We report herein a 46-year-old woman with a second local recurrence after right colectomy, with the main objective of showing the possibility of indicating this type of surgery in sele cted cases. METHODS: In view of the lack of therapeutic options for th e case and the absence of metastases, extended curative surgery for re current carcinoma of the colon was performed, with en bloc resection o f the right iliac bone and of the crural nerve (Type I internal hemipe lvectomy). RESULTS: After a 27-month followup, the patient is asymptom atic, with no signs of local recurrence or metastases. CONCLUSIONS: In selected cases, recurrent carcinoma of the colon can be treated by ex tended and aggressive surgery, including bone resection, to obtain an appropriate safety margins.