Supracetabular external fixation in treating pelvic fractures associated with injuries of abdominal organs / 中华骨科杂志

ABSTRACT

ObjectiveTo evaluate the technique and clinical outcomes of supra-acetabular external fixation in treating pelvic fractures associated with injuries of abdominal organs.MethodsThere were 17 cases of pelvic fractures associated with injuries of abdominal organs.Nine were males and 8 were females,with the average age of 42 years(range,21-75 years).The injury was caused by traffic accident in 9 cases,fall-down from height in 4,and crush by heavy objects in 6.According to Tile classification of pelvic fractures,7 were type B1,3 were type B2,2 were type B3,4 were type C1 and 1 was type C2.Fifteen cases suffered with hemorrhagic shock,2 with perineal injury and 12 with fractures of the limbs.All patients were treated with supra-acetabular external fixation and the outcomes were evaluated by Cole's clinical scoring,Matta and Tornetta's radiographic standards.ResultsAll 17 cases were followed up with the mean period of 6.5 months (range,2-18 months).The average time of operation was 15 min (range,9-25 min).The mean blood loss was 17 ml(range,5-25 ml).All fractures healed and the mean healing period was 9.2 weeks (range,8-12 weeks).Three had transient palsy of lateral femoral cutaneous nerve.Five had soft tissue infection while the bony structures were not involved.According to Cole's scoring for pelvic fractures,15 cases were excellent,1 case was good and 1 case was fair,with the good-excellent rate of 94.12％.According to Matta and Tornetta's standards of fracture reduction,12 were excellent,3 were good and 2 were fair,with the good-excellent rate of 88.24％.ConclusionSupra-acetabular external fixation is a minimal invasive and convenient method for treating pelvic fractures with abdominal organs injury which is mechanically stronger than traditional external fixation via iliac crest.