Lateral rectus abdominis approach versus posteromedian sacrum approach for unstable sacral fracture complicated with lumbosacral plexus injury / 中华创伤骨科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To compare the lateral rectus abdominis approach versus posteromedian sacrum approach in the surgical treatment of unstable sacral fracture complicated with lumbosacral plexus injury.Methods From June 2010 to December 2014,33 unstable sacral fractures complicated with lumbosacral plexus injury were treated at Department of Orthopaedics,Spinal and Pelvic Surgery Center,Zhongnan Hospital.Of them,24 were fresh and 9 obsolete.The lateral rectus abdominis approach was adopted in 17 patients and the posteromedian sacrum approach in 16.All the patients received surgical treatment within 2 to 12 weeks (average,4.5 weeks) after injury.The 2 groups were compared in terms of operation time,bleeding volume,complications,weight-bearing time,visual analogue scale (VAS),European QOL Five Dimensional health scale (EQ-5D) and lumbosacral injury classification and severity scale (LSICS).Results The 2 groups were compatible due to their insignificant differences in baseline data (P ＞ 0.05).Their follow-up time ranged from 17 to 37 months (average,26.8 months).Perioperatively,infection and necrosis of the lumbosacral incision appeared in 2 patients and iatrogenic injury to the lumbosacral plexus in 3 patients.All the other incisions healed well without major complications like infection,pressure ulcer or implant failure.There were no significant differences between the 2 groups in operation time (235.8± 72.0 minutes versus 318.0 ± 64.7 minutes),intraoperative bleeding volume (558.8 ± 125.7 mL versus 734.0 ±98.0 mL),weight-bearing time (9.4 ±2.4 weeks versus 11.3 ±2.3 weeks),postoperative complications,VAS(1.1 ±0.6 points versus 1.0 ±0.6 points),EQ-5D (0.82 ±0.09 points versus 0.78 ±0.06 points) or LSICS (P ＞ 0.05).The final follow-ups revealed significant improvements in VAS,EQ-5D and LSICS in all the patients (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion The lumbosacral plexus can be well decompressed via both the lateral rectus abdominis approach and the posteromedian sacrum approach,leading to satisfactory clinical outcomes.