Percutaneous screw fixation of fractures of the iliac wing and fracture-dislocations of the sacro-iliac joint (OTA Types 61-B2.2 and 61-B2.3, or Young-Burgess "lateral compression type II" pelvic fractures)

A technique for closed reduction and percutaneous screw fixation of fractures of the iliac wing and fracture-dislocations of the sacro-iliac joint is presented. Twenty-seven pelvic fractures were treated with attempted closed reduction followed by percutaneous screw fixation. Closed reduction failed in two patients. In the other twenty-five, closed reduction to within one centimeter of residual displacement was obtained, and was followed by stabilization with percutaneously placed cannulated screws. Complications included dislodgment of a screw from the superior pubic ramus in one patient, and partial cut-out of a screw along the inner cortex of the iliac wing in another. Two patients were lost to follow-up before fracture union occurred. The remaining twenty-three patients were followed-up for an average of twenty-seven months (range, 18-48 months). All of the fractures healed in the twenty-three patients who were not lost to follow-up. All but two of the patients who were working before injury returned to work. All but one of the patients was satisfied with the outcome of their pelvic fracture treatment. Closed reduction and percutaneous screw fixation of fractures of the posterior portion of the iliac wing yields acceptable reductions, with minimal blood loss and limited damage to the surrounding soft tissues.