![]() It is important to choose your surgeon wisely. Most patients stay in the hospital for several days after surgery. A combination of large and small incisions are used to fix these injuries. In most cases, these are fixed with plates and screws. The surgeon will decide which is best for each injury pattern. Occasionally surgery has to be delayed several days if patients are too sick or unstable from a medical standpoint for surgery.īecause the hip socket can break in many different ways, there are several types of pelvic fracture surgery and surgical approaches that can be done to fix the injury. However, due to the fact that many patients have other injuries, the surgery has to wait until patients are cleared for surgery by the general surgeons. Surgeons like to fix these pelvic fractures as soon as possible. Surgical TreatmentĪn unstable broken pelvis requires surgery. Most patients will be placed on a blood thinner to avoid clots for 2-6 weeks. Physical therapy for hip and knee range of motion is started around 6 weeks once bone has healed enough to prevent displacement with motion. Depending on health and injury pattern this bone can take 3-4 months to heal without surgery. Patients will require gait aids such as crutches or walkers. Some types of fractures allow for immediate weight bearing while others do not. One fall or continued lack of compliance with early walking against medical advice can cause bones to move and result in the need for surgery. Cutting down or quitting smoking and tight blood sugar control if you are a diabetic is important for the healing process. If non-operative care is chosen, regular follow-up care for a physical exam and x-rays is important to ensure that the fracture stays in good position and heals appropriately. Insufficiency fractures in elderly patients are usually treated non-operatively as well. These include isolated pubic ramus fractures, isolated sacral fractures, avulsion fractures and some iliac wing fractures. Nonsurgical treatment is recommended for stable pelvic fractures that are non-displaced. Severe pelvic fractures usually require surgery. Treatment for pelvic fractures can be non-surgical or surgical depending on the stability of the broken bone and whether the fracture is displaced or not. In elderly patients with pelvis pain and normal x-rays or CT scans, an MRI is sometimes ordered to diagnose a fracture due to weak bone or osteoporosis known as an insufficiency fracture. These can create a 3-D image of the injury broken pelvic bone which gives doctors specific knowledge about the size and location of the broken bones. CT (Computed Tomography) scans are often ordered to help plan treatment and surgery.Often 5 or more x-rays are taken to show the injury pattern. This helps doctors and patients make an informed decision on treatment. X-rays are used to evaluate the location and severity of the broken pelvic bone.Several types of pelvis pelvic fractures cause life threatening injuries and without stabilization, patients can die. Diagnosis of an injury to some blood vessels requires urgent surgery. Important nerves and blood vessels run next to this bone and can be injured when it breaks. Physical examinations are critical in the evaluation of these injuries.Most patients are brought to a trauma center because these injuries often have associated head, chest or abdominal trauma. Pelvic fractures are often caused by high energy injuries. Difficulty and pain when walking or standing.Numbness or tingling in your groin or upper thighs.Some symptoms of a broken or fractured pelvis can include… Many of the important leg muscles and abdominal muscles attach to the pelvis and allow for body motion and function. The pelvis protects the bladder, intestines and many important blood vessels. With a broken pelvis you cannot walk, sit or move well without pain. The pelvis is the structure responsible for connecting the spine to the lower body. Reproduced with permission from OrthoInfo. John Zebrack, MD General Orthopedic Surgery Jeffrey Webster, MD General Orthopedic Surgery Nichole Joslyn, MD Hand & Upper Extremity Thomas Christensen, MD Hand & Upper Extremity James Christensen, MD Hand & Upper Extremity Nikola Babovic, MD Hand & Upper Extremity
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