Last winter I planted a little apple tree. As it seemed healthy in general and fruiting I ignored an infection/fungus type thing on the trunk, mainly because I had no idea what else to do. But it had all rotted away inside that part, most of the top has now snapped off and I can't cut it down to clean wood without removing the three remaining small branches too.
So - dig the whole thing up and start from scratch with a new one? Or slice it off further down and hope the branches regrow with the benefit of roots that have had a year to establish? My heart wants to give the original tree a chance but my head says if that doesn't work or the rot comes back, I could be put back two years rather than just one. It's a bit of a long shot that anyone's decapitated a young apple tree and could tell me if it survived but I thought I'd ask!