PELVIC FRACTURES

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CHAPTER 70 PELVIC FRACTURES

Pelvic fractures are a common injury among all trauma injuries (3%). They represent a spectrum of injuries from low-energy minimally displaced fractures in the elderly population to highly displaced fractures with major injury. While most low-energy fractures can be treated conservatively, higher-energy injuries are associated with significant multisystem morbidity. In Level I trauma centers, high-energy pelvic ring injuries are often seen in conjunction with severe head injury, chest and abdominal hemorrhage, genitourinary trauma, and severe peripheral neurologic injury (6%). This chapter will address diagnosis, early management and outcomes of pelvic ring injury. Prompt recognition of a displaced pelvic fractures aids trauma surgeons in the prediction and management of hemodynamic instability.

A multispecialty approach to the management of patients with hemodynamic instability and pelvic ring injuries is strongly supported throughout the literature. Early involvement of orthopedic traumatologists and interventional radiologists in addition to the primary trauma team improves morbidity and mortality from severe pelvic injuries. In the setting of hypotension, external fixation and angiography are beneficial but the treatment algorithm of such interventions should be individualized based on the resources available at each institution.

ANATOMY

The pelvic ring is comprised of three bones: the sacrum and the two innominate bones. There is no intrinsic bony stability to the ring itself. Integrity is maintained by a series of strong ligamentous complexes and the soft tissue envelope (Figure 1). Anatomic alignment is maintained primarily by a series of posterior ligaments. The strongest of these, the interosseous ligaments, connect the tuberosities of the ilium and sacrum. The posterior sacroiliac ligaments connect the superior and inferior posterior spines of the ilium to the lateral aspect of sacrum. Similarly, the anterior sacroiliac ligaments run from the anterior surface of the sacrum obliquely to the anterior surface of the ilium. The connecting ligaments are the sacrotuberous, which runs from the dorsum of the sacrum and posterior iliac spines to the ischial tuberosity; the sacrospinous, which courses from the lateral sacrum to the ischial spine; and the iliolumbar ligaments, which run from the transverse process of L5 to the iliac crest. This group of ligaments maintains the relationship between the sacrum and the sciatic buttress, which is the body’s primary weight bearing axis. Under anatomic conditions, there is only microscopic motion at the sacroiliac joint.

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Figure 1 The bony pelvis and its major posterior ligaments. (A) Posterior view. (B) Anterior view.

(From Tile M, editor: Fractures of the Pelvis and Acetabulum, 3rd ed. Baltimore, Williams and Wilkins, 2003.)

The paired innominate bones meet anteriorly at the pubic symphysis, which is comprised of a hyaline cartilage interface reinforced by overlying fibrocartilage. The ligaments of pubic symphysis blend with the fibrocartilage to support the articulation superiorly and inferiorly. The anterior ring does not play an integral role in weight bearing but instead acts like a strut to maintain the posterior tension band.1

CLASSIFICATION

Multiple classification systems have been described in an attempt to clarify mechanisms of injury, as well as predict treatment algorithms and outcomes. The Young and Burgess classification system is based on previous systems that divided pelvic injuries by the force vector (Figure 4). Injuries are grouped into lateral compression (LC), AP compression (APC), vertical shear (VS), and combined mechanical (CM) injuries. The Young system further subdivides LC and APC injuries by degree of force with increasing grade of injury correlating with an extension of the original vector to greater forces. For example, an APC-I injury describes symphyseal widening without widening of the sacroiliac joints, while an APC-III injury involves a complete hemipelvis disruption with complete injury to the symphysis as well as disruption of both the anterior and posterior sacroiliac ligaments (Table 1).3

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Figure 4 A diagrammatic depiction of the Young and Burgess classification system.

(From Baumgaertner MR, Tornetta P, editors: Orthopaedic Knowledge Update: Trauma 3. Rosemont, IL, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, 2005, pp. 236–238, with permission.)

Table 1 Pelvic Ring Fracture Classification System

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Category Primary Classifier Secondary Classifier
LC-1