Outcome of primary fixation of traumatic acetabular fractures

Abstract

Objectives; Traumatic acetabular fracture is a major injury with high association of mortality, morbidity and long recovery period. Surgical management of acetabular fracture is a technical challenge needing high level of skills and vigilance because of the complex anatomy and risk to surrounding structures. We aim to look at two surgical techniques for fixation of acetabular fracture and their outcome in this study. Methods; Between April 2018 and March 2023, a total of 26 patients (15 males and 11 females) were treated for acetabular fracture fixation. 10 were treated with minima invasive technique Close reduction and per-cutaneous fixation because of good reduction was achieved under image guidance and 16 patients had ORIF with use of various recon plates, screws and wires. Results; All patients were followed up for 12 months. Among all patients, the clinical outcomes were recorded as excellent in 17 patients (17/26, 65%), good in 5 (5/26, 19%), fair in 2 (2/26, 7.7%), and poor in 2 (2/26. 7.7%), according to the modified Merle d’Aubigné-Postel score. The average modified Merle d’Aubigné-Postel score was 15 ± 2.0 points (range, 10–18 points). The radio-logical healing was assessed according to the Matta score [22] and were reported excellent in 15 patients (15/26, 57.6%), good in 7 (7/26, 26.8%), fair in 1 (1/26, 3.8%),and poor in 3 (3/26, 11.5%). Conclusion; our study shows comparable clinical outcome for acetabular fracture fixation using either ORIF or CRPF technique. Right patient choice and good knowledge of anatomy is of paramount importance.