Surgical outcomes of acetabular posterior wall fractures in patients aged 50 and above: a retrospective study / 中华创伤骨科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To investigate the surgical outcomes of acetabular posterior wall fractures in patients aged 50 and above.Methods:A retrospective study was conducted to analyze the clinical data of 67 patients with acetabular posterior wall fracture who had been treated through the Kocher-Langenbeck approach and fully followed up from August 2003 to November 2021. There were 54 males and 13 females, aged 59.0 (54.0, 63.0) years. The time from injury to surgery was 8.0 (5.0, 13.0) days. Open reduction and internal fixation was performed for 63 cases and hip arthroplasty for 4 cases by one stage. The operation time, intraoperative bleeding, quality of postoperative fracture reduction, recovery of hip function at the last follow-up, and incidence of complications during the follow-up period were recorded.Results:The operation time for the 67 patients was 90.0 (67.5, 101.3) min, and the intraoperative bleeding 350.0 (300.0, 450.0) mL. According to the Matta criteria, 63 patients with internal fixation achieved anatomical reduction. All the 67 patients were followed up for (112.8±62.4) months. According to the modified Merle d'Aubigné & Postel scoring system, the function of the affected hip was assessed at the last follow-up in the 63 patients with internal fixation as excellent in 56 cases, as good in 3 cases, as fair in 2 cases, and as poor in 2 cases, giving an excellent and good rate of 93.6% (59/63). The prostheses survived in all the 4 patients who underwent one-stage hip replacement, with hip Harris scores of 94, 92, 91, and 93, respectively. Complications included 15 cases (23.8%, 15/63) of heterotopic ossification and 1 case (1.6%, 1/63) of transient sciatic nerve palsy. Femoral head ischemic necrosis and traumatic arthritis occurred in 2 patients (3.2%, 2/63) who had to receive total hip arthroplasty 3 years after surgery.Conclusion:Open reduction and internal fixation is still the main treatment method for acetabular posterior wall fractures in patients aged 50 and above, because it can achieve good clinical outcomes and help the patients recover joint function and quality of life at an early stage.