Application of self-made spring plate for treatment of acetabular posterior wall fractures

Abstract

To investigate the application and effectiveness of self-made spring plate in surgical treatment of acetabular posterior wall fracturejavascript:void(0)s. Between June 2013 and June 2017, 38 patients with acetabular posterior wall fractures were treated. There were 27 males and 11 females with an average age of 53 years (range, 28-68 years). The injury caused by traffic accident in 18 cases, falling from height in 15 cases, and tumble in 5 cases. There were 4 cases of simple posterior wall fracture, 18 cases of posterior wall fracture with posterior dislocation of hip joint, 10 cases of posterior wall fracture with posterior column fracture, and 6 cases of posterior wall fracture with transverse fracture. The time from injury to admission was 1-4 days (mean, 2.5 days). The time from injury to operation was 4-8 days (mean, 5 days). After fracture reduction via the Kocher-Langenbeck approach (35 cases) or the combined ilioinguinal approach (3 cases), the spring plate was used to press the posterior wall fracture, and then the reconstruction plate was pressed against the spring plate and fixed to the posterior column. All the incisions healed by first intention. All patients were followed up 12-36 months (mean, 28 months). Five cases of post-traumatic sciatic nerve injury and 2 cases of sciatic nerve injury caused by traction during operation were fully recovered at 3 months after operation. The imaging examination showed that all the fractures healed. The fracture healing time was 10-16 weeks (mean, 12 weeks). There was no ruptures or failures of internal fixation during the follow-up period. There were 2 cases of femoral head necrosis, 1 case of traumatic arthritis, and 1 case of osteomyositis at last follow-up. The hip joint function was rated as excellent in 27 cases, good in 5 cases, fair in 2 cases, and poor in 4 cases according to the Harris scores at 12 months after operation. For the acetabular posterior wall fracture, it has the advantages of easy to use and reliable fixation that the posterior wall fracture is fixed with spring plate firstly, and the spring plate is pressed to fix the posterior column with the reconstruction plate finally.