Are the sequelae of acetabular fracture serious?

There are many joints in our body, and the hip bone is one of the more important joints. When we are doing some larger activities, the hip bone plays a role. Of course, there may be some accidental injuries to the hip bone in daily life, and fracture is a more serious accidental injury. When a hip fracture occurs, timely treatment is required, and careful care is also required after the operation.

Are the sequelae of acetabular fracture serious?

1. Acetabular fractures can be treated and healed, but the functional activities will depend on the recovery in the later stage, because it is a fracture involving the joint and is prone to cause traumatic arthritis.

2. The fracture in this area is a minor one that is difficult to treat. If it is not treated properly or in time, there will definitely be sequelae. However, if it is treated promptly and properly, there will be no sequelae. So this is an uncertain answer. If timely and proper treatment is not provided, there will definitely be sequelae, and the sequelae are quite serious.

Causes

Most of them are caused by indirect violence and squeezing violence. It often happens when a person falls from a height and the greater trochanter of one femur hits the ground. At this time, the femoral head hits the acetabulum, which can cause a non-displaced fracture of the acetabulum or displacement of the inner wall fracture fragment of the acetabulum into the pelvic cavity. When the hip and knee are flexed, violence along the longitudinal axis of the femur can also cause fractures of the posterior edge of the acetabulum. If the lower limbs are in the adducted position, in addition to causing acetabular fractures, posterior dislocation of the hip joint is also likely to occur, while if the lower limbs are abducted, a comminuted fracture of the top of the acetabulum may result. In addition, crush injuries can also cause acetabular fractures.

symptom

The early symptoms of acetabular fracture are local pain and limited movement of the hip joint. If it is complicated by femoral head dislocation, it will manifest as corresponding lower limb deformity and elastic fixation. When central dislocation of the hip occurs, the pain and dysfunction are not as severe as anterior and posterior dislocations of the hip, and the physical signs are not obvious. Severe dislocation may manifest as shortening of the affected limb.

Acetabular fractures may be complicated by massive pelvic bleeding, urethral or nerve injury, pelvic ring disruption, and ipsilateral lower limb fractures.

treat

1. Non-surgical treatment

Mildly displaced acetabular fractures can be treated conservatively. Conservative treatment can also be considered in the following two situations:

(1) Most of the acetabulum is intact and still fits into the femoral head.

(2) Secondary matching is formed after slight displacement of the two-column fracture: After the two-column fracture, all cartilage parts and the distal fracture fragments together with the ilium separated from the fracture fragments around the femoral head still maintain the same shape.

The purpose of non-surgical treatment is to prevent further displacement. Tibial tubercle traction can be used, but the traction force should not be too large to prevent the femoral head from dislocating from the acetabulum.

2. Surgery

Most displaced acetabular fractures require surgery to achieve satisfactory reduction and fixation to reduce the incidence of post-traumatic arthritis and facilitate early functional training.

The operation should be performed within two to three days or 10 days after the fracture. At this time, local bleeding has stopped but the fracture line is still clearly visible. After 3 weeks, it will be very difficult to reduce the fracture due to the growth of bone callus.