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Lumbopelvic fixation for multiplanar sacral fractures with spinopelvic instability
Injury, 07/10/2012
Clinical Article
Tan GG et al. – The authors experience suggests lumbopelvic fixation can be used for the treatment of multiplanar sacral fractures with spinopelvic instability with a low rate of complications. Neurologic improvement can be expected, but whether surgical decompression results in substantially better neurologic recovery than conservative treatment remains uncertain.
Methods- There were six men and three women, with a mean age of 32.2years.
- Preoperative neurologic deficits were noted in seven patients; four patients had complete cauda equina paralysis, and three patients had incomplete cauda equina syndrome.
- All patients were treated using lumbopelvic instrumented fixation without other devices for their multiplanar sacral fractures.
- Six patients who had neurological deficits and sacral canal compression underwent decompression laminectomy.
- The mean postoperative follow–up time was 21.7months (range, 14–32months).
- All fractures went on to union without loss of reduction or hardware failure.
- The mean Gibbons score improved from 3.5 preoperatively to 2.3 postoperatively among the patients who underwent decompression laminectomy.
- Eight out of nine patients had fair or better results based on radiographic criteria and the Majeed pelvic fracture outcome score.