Incarcerated fragment of posterior acetabular wall fracture without hip dislocation

Efficient hip joint distraction using the AO large femoral distractor in treating acetabular fractures associated with marginal impaction and intraarticular incarcerated fragments

PURPOSE

The results after acetabular fracture are primarily related to the quality of articular reduction. Using the AO large femoral distractor, incarcerated fragments can be easily removed, and marginally impacted fragments can be elevated under direct visualization without further re-dislocating the joint. The current study aimed to evaluate our early results of using the AO large femoral distractor as an assisting tool during ORIF of acetabular fractures associated with marginal impaction or intraarticular incarcerated fragments.

METHODS

Eighteen patients were included in this retrospective case series study diagnosed with an acetabular fracture associated with either marginal impaction injury or an intraarticular incarcerated fragment. On a usual operative table, all patients were operated upon in a prone position through the Kocher Langenbeck approach. The AO large femoral distractor was used to facilitate hip joint distraction. Postoperative fracture reduction and joint clearance were assessed in the immediate postoperative CT scans.

RESULTS

The average age of the patients was 30 ± 8.2 years; 13 (72.2%) were males. All cases had a posterior wall fracture, and it was associated with transverse fractures, posterior column fractures, and T-type fractures in five (27.8%), two (11.1%), and one (5.6%) patients, respectively. Intraarticular incarcerated fragments were present in 13 (72.2%) cases and marginal impaction in five (27.8%). Fracture reduction measured on the postoperative CT scans showed an anatomical reduction in 14 (77.8%) patients, imperfect in four (22.2%), and complete clearance of the hip joint of any incarcerated fragments.

CONCLUSION

The use of the AO large femoral distractor is a reliable and reproducible technique that can be applied to assist in the removal of incarcerated intraarticular fragments and to ease the reduction of marginally impacted injuries associated with acetabular fractures.

Unusual combination of posterior femoral head dislocation with anterior and posterior wall fractures in the ipsilateral acetabulum

Although hip dislocation combined with acetabular fracture is not an uncommon injury, anterior acetabular wall fractures rarely occur in patients who have posterior fracture-dislocations of the hip. This article presents a unique case of anterior and posterior wall fractures of the ipsilateral acetabulum in a patient who sustained traumatic posterior hip dislocation that resulted from a high-speed motor vehicle accident. The initial imaging evaluation, which did not include the obturator oblique view, revealed no concomitant anterior acetabular wall fracture. Repeated manipulative reductions were unsuccessful in reducing the displaced hip joint. Pelvic computed tomography (CT) scans revealed the initially missed anterior acetabular wall fracture fragments incarcerated in the left hip joint in addition to the hip dislocation and the posterior acetabular wall fracture. The incarcerated bone fragments lay between the anterior wall and the femoral head, and between the posterior wall and the femoral head, which appeared to derive from both anterior and posterior acetabular walls, respectively. Open reduction and internal fixation was performed to manage the posterior dislocation and associated acetabular fractures. Intraoperatively, the major anterior wall fragment was used to reconstruct the defected posterior wall. This case highlights the necessity of suspicion and pre- and postoperative monitoring of the obturator oblique view and CT scans to detect the potentially existing anterior acetabular wall fracture. Early surgical intervention is important to guarantee satisfactory outcomes of such complex fracture-dislocation injuries.