Abstract

Fractures of the pelvis constitute one out of every 1000 surgical admissions and 3% of all skeletal fractures. Traffic accidents and fall from heights are the most important sources of these injuries. Thus the magnitude of the fracturing force is so great that it usually causes serious injuries to the other areas of the body in addition to local trauma to the viscera and the neurovascular structures contained within the pelvis. The fractured pelvis continues to contribute significantly to trauma``s overall death rate because of delays in the diagnosis and the control of hemorrhage. The purpose of this study was to review the patients with pelvic bone fracture and to assess the results. Twenty-eight patients with the pelvic bone fracture were treated during the period of Dec. 1985 to Dec. 1989 at the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery of the Seoul National University Hospital. There were 7 females and 21 males, whose age ranged from 17 to 77 years averaging 40.5 years. The follow-up period ranged from 11 to 48 months averaging 25months. Traffic accident was the cause of the fracture in 16 patients(57.1 %), while fall from heights was in 10 patients(35.7%) and the other causes were in 2 patients(7.2%). Fractures of the other sites were combined in 21 patients and visceral injuries were found in 8 patients. Of the 28 patients, 16 patients have acetabular fracture and 12 patients have pelvic ring. fracture. Thirteen patients of the acetablular fractures were treated by open reduction and internal fixation and the rests of the acetabular fractures and all of the pelvic ring fractures were treated conservatively. Urethral injury, hematoma, sciatic nerve palsy, degenerative arthritis, and non-union were the complications. The results of the 26 patients of the 28 pelvic fractures were satisfactory and two cases with severe degenerative arthritis showed unsatisfactory results.