Clinical application of anterior ring internal fixator system combined with sacroiliac screw fixation in Tile C pelvic fracture treatment

Background How to perform minimally invasive surgery for Tile C pelvic fracture is a major problem in clinical practice. We performed minimally invasive surgery for Tile C pelvic fracture using anterior ring internal fixator systems combined with sacroiliac screw fixation. Objective To investigate the advantages and efficacy of anterior ring internal fixator systems combined with sacroiliac screw fixation in the treatment of Tile C pelvic fracture. Methods From May 2017 to May 2020, 27 patients with Tile C pelvic fracture who underwent anterior ring internal fixator system combined with sacroiliac screw fixation (group A) and 21 patients with Tile C pelvic fracture who underwent plate-screw system combined with sacroiliac screw fixation (group B) were retrospectively analyzed. Results All 48 patients were followed up for more than 12 months, all fractures healed within 3–6 months. The operative time, intraoperative bleeding volume, blood transfusion volume, incision length, hospital stay, complication rate and Majeed score were 63.5 ± 10.7 min, 48.3 ± 27.9 ml, 0 ml, 4.5 ± 0.8 cm, 10.2 ± 2.7 d, 3.7% and 89.7 ± 4.6 points, respectively, in group A and 114.8 ± 19.1 min, 375 ± 315.8 ml, 266.7 ± 326.6 ml, 9.2 ± 3.9 cm, 20.9 ± 5.7 d, 23.8% and 88.7 ± 4.9 points, respectively, in group B. Combined excellent and good rates of the Matta evaluation and Majeed score were 100% in both groups. There were no significant differences in the Matta evaluation or Majeed score between the two groups (both P > 0.05), whereas the operative time, intraoperative bleeding volume, blood transfusion volume, incision length and hospital stay were significantly less in group A (all P < 0.05). Conclusion An anterior ring internal fixator system combined with sacroiliac screw fixation can effectively treat Tile C pelvic fracture, and has advantages, including minimal invasiveness, simple operation, short operative time, safe and reliable features, fewer complications, short hospital stay and a good curative effect.

Failure of internal fixation of the anterior ring for unstable pelvic fractures, the experience of a single institute

Background This study aimed to share our experience of anterior ring fixation failure for unstable pelvic fractures and propose corresponding treatment strategies. Materials From January 2009 to December 2018, 93 charts of patients with pelvic fractures were retrospectively reviewed. Patients with failure of the anterior ring internal fixation within 3 months after initial surgery were analyzed. Quality of reduction was evaluated using the Majeed scoring system. Patients aging ≥ 18 years, with unstable pelvic fractures, Tile classification type B and type C pelvic fractures, combined injury of other organs that did not affect the operation and without important neurovascular damage were included. The exclusion criteria included: (1) pathological fracture, or combined with pelvic bone tumor or severe osteoporosis; (2) femoral fracture and thoracolumbar fracture; (3) open pelvic fracture; (4) Morel-Lavallée injury; (5) complicated acetabular fracture. The quality of the reduction of the anterior pelvic ring injury was evaluated on the x-ray film using the Majeed scoring system. Results According to the Tile classification of fracture, there were 23 cases of type B1, 17 cases of type B2, 11 cases of type B3, 28 cases of type C1, 6 cases of type C2, and 8 cases of type C3. The duration from injury to pelvic internal fixation ranged from 5 to 28 days. Seven out of 93 patients experienced failure of internal fixation of the anterior pelvic ring within 3 months, including 2 patients fixed with an external fixator and 5 patients fixed with a plate. Five patients undergoing revision surgery were followed up for 6–36 months with an average of 18 months. According to Majeed’s score at the last follow-up in the 5 patients undergoing revision surgery, there were 2 cases of excellent, 2 cases of good, 1 case of fair. The excellent and good rate reached 80%. Conclusion The treatment of complicated unstable pelvic fractures requires performing internal fixation surgery within 2 weeks. It is necessary to make a preoperative plan and stabilize the posterior ring first, avoiding a single steel plate crossing the pubic symphysis.

Operative management of fragility fractures of the pelvis – a systematic review

Background The incidence of osteoporotic pelvic fractures in elderly patient is rising. This brings an increasing burden on health and social care systems as these injuries often lead to prolonged hospital admissions, loss of independence, morbidity and mortality. Some centres now advocate stabilisation of these injuries to reduce pain, facilitate early mobilisation, decrease hospital stay and restore independence. A systematic review of the literature was planned to establish the evidence for this intervention. Methods A systematic review was performed according to PRISMA guidelines. A clinical librarian performed a search of the following databases: NHS Evidence, TRIP, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, MEDLINE and EMBASE. Seventeen eligible studies were identified with 766 patients. Results The quality of evidence was poor with no good quality randomised trials. The majority of injuries were minimally displaced. Posterior ring injuries were most often stabilised with percutaneous screws which were sometimes augmented with void filler. A number of techniques were described for stabilisation of the anterior ring although fixation of the anterior ring was frequently not performed. There was consistent evidence from the included studies that operative intervention significantly improved pain. Complications were minimal but there were increased failure rates when a single unaugmented sacroiliac joint screw was used. The limited availability of non-operative comparators made it difficult to draw firm conclusions about the efficacy of surgical over non-surgical management in these patients. Conclusions Operative management of fragility fractures of the pelvis should be considered for patients failing a brief period of non-operative management, however prospective randomised trials need to be performed to provide improved evidence for this intervention. Surgeons should consider which fixation techniques for fragility fractures of the pelvis are robust enough to allow immediate weightbearing, whilst minimising operative morbidity and post-operative complications. PROSPERO Systematic Review ID: CRD42020171237.

Failure of Internal Fixation of The Anterior Ring For Unstable Pelvic Fractures, The Experience of A Single Institute

Background: This study aimed to share our experience of anterior ring fixation failure for unstable pelvic fractures and propose corresponding treatment strategies. Materials: From January 2009 to December 2018, 93 patients with pelvic fractures were retrospectively reviewed. Patients with failure of the anterior ring internal fixation within 3 months after initial surgery were analyzed. Quality of reduction was evaluated using the Majeed scoring system.Results: According to the Tile classification of fracture, there were 23 cases of type B1, 17 cases of type B2, 11 cases of type B3, 28 cases of type C1, 6 cases of type C2, and 8 cases of type C3. The duration from injury to pelvic internal fixation ranged from 5-28 days. Seven out of 93 patients experienced failure of internal fixation of the anterior pelvic ring within 3 months, including 2 patients fixed with an external fixator and 5 patients were fixed with a plate. Five patients undergoing revision surgery were followed up for 6-36 months with an average of 18 months. According to Majeedscore at the last follow-up, there were 2 cases of excellent, 2 cases of good, 1 case of fair, and the excellent and good rate reached 80%.Conclusion: The treatment of complicated unstable pelvic fractures requires early multidisciplinary cooperation, proper management of hemodynamic stability and other comorbidities, and performing internal fixation surgery within 2 weeks. It is necessary to make a preoperative plan and stabilize the posterior ring first, avoiding a single steel plate crossing the pubic symphysis.

Modified pedicle screw-rod versus anterior subcutaneous internal pelvic fixation for unstable pelvic anterior ring fracture: A retrospective study and finite element analysis

Objectives: This study compared the stability and clinical outcomes of modified pedicle screw-rod fixation (MPSRF) and anterior subcutaneous internal pelvic fixation (INFIX) for the treatment of anterior pelvic ring fractures using Tornetta and Matta grading system and finite element analyses.Methods: In a retrospective review of a consecutive patient series, 63 patients with Orthopaedic Trauma Association (OTA)/Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Osteosynthesefragen (AO) type B or C pelvic ring fractures were treated by MPRSF (n=30) or INFIX (n=33). The main outcome measure were Majeed score, incidence of complications and adverse outcomes, and fixation stability was evaluated by finite element analysis (FEA).Results: two groups did not differ in terms of injury severity score, OTA classification, cause of injury, and time to pelvic surgery. However, the MPSRF group had a higher satisfactory rate according to the Tornetta and Matta grading system than the INFIX group (73.33% vs 63.63%) as well as a higher Majeed score (81.5±10.4 vs 76.3±11.2), which was statistically significant at 6 months’ post-surgery. FEA showed that MPRSF was stiffer and more stable than INFIX and had a lower risk of implant failure.Conclusions: Both MPSRF and INFIX have acceptable biomechanical stability for the treatment of unstable pelvic anterior ring fractures. However, MPRSF has better fixation stability and lower risk of implant failure, which can lead to better clinical outcomes.

Biomechanical Comparison of Three Kinds of Minimally Invasive Internal Fixation in the Treatment of Pelvic Bilateral Anterior Ring Fractures

[Objective] To compare the mechanical characteristics of percutaneous long plate, percutaneous pubic superioris intramedullary screw and percutaneous pelvic anterior screw-rod system for the treatment of bilateral vertical pubic fractures to provide reference for clinical application. [Methods] A finite element model of pelvic anterior ring injury (bilateral vertical pubic fracture) was produced. The fractures were fixed with percutaneous long plate, percutaneous pubic superioris intramedullary screw, percutaneous pelvic anterior screw-rod system and their combination in 5 types of models. The fracture stability under vertical, bilateral and anterior-posterior load were quantified and compared based on the displacement of the hip joints’ midpoint as quantificational index of fracture stability. [Results] In condition of bilateral and anterior-posterior load, the vertical, bilateral and anterior-posterior displacement of the hip joints’ midpoint of different models were significantly different respectively. In general, the displacement of the 5 pelvic anterior ring fixation models were ranked from maximum to minimum as follows: long plate, pelvic anterior screw-rod system, combination of long plate and pelvic anterior screw-rod system, pubic superioris intramedullary screw and combination of pubic superioris intramedullary screw and pelvic anterior screw-rod system. [Conclusion] For the fixation in bilateral pubic fractures of pelvic injury, the percutaneous pubic superioris intramedullary screw was optimal, percutaneous pelvic anterior screw-rod system was the second choice, and percutaneous long plate ranked the third. The percutaneous pelvic anterior screw-rod system can significantly increase fixation stability of the percutaneous pubic superioris intramedullary screw and the percutaneous long plate.

Robot-assisted treatment of unstable pelvic fractures with a percutaneous iliac lumbar double rod fixation combined with a percutaneous pelvic anterior ring INFIX fixation

Objective To investigate the clinical effect of robot-assisted treatment of unstable pelvic fractures through a percutaneous iliac lumbar double rod fixation combined with a percutaneous pelvic anterior ring INFIX (internal fixator) fixation. Methods This was a retrospective analysis of 17 cases of unstable anterior and posterior pelvic ring fractures treated between April 2016 and October 2018 by the third Ti-robot system produced in China. The posterior ring was supported with an iliac lumbar double rod fixation and the anterior ring with an INFIX fixation. Operation time and peri-operative bleeding were recorded. The reduction of pelvic fracture displacement was evaluated by Matta score, the post-operative results were evaluated according to Majeed score, and the complications were recorded. Results Twelve males and five females, aged 21–71 years (mean 40.1 ± 3.8 years) were followed up for three to 12 months, (median 6.7 months). Tile typing showed seven B1 type, two B2 type, and eight C1 type cases. Operation time was 90–160 minutes (mean 112.9 ± 16.8 minutes), bleeding was 80–150 mL (mean 105.9 ± 20.6 mL). X-ray three to five days after operation was evaluated by Matta score as excellent in 15 and good in two cases. Majeed score at last follow-up was 85–98 points, excellent in 17 cases. Two cases of lower extremity deep vein thrombosis received an inferior vena cava filter. The filters were removed after two weeks. One case showed incision fat liquefaction healing and the wound healed three weeks after surgery. Conclusion Orthopedic robot-assisted treatment of unstable pelvic fractures by a percutaneous iliac lumbar double rod fixation and a percutaneous pelvic anterior ring INFIX fixator was minimally invasive and feasible. A prospective study is needed.