Pelvis &
Hip Trauma
Pelvic fractures
The pelvis is a ring of bone at hip level, made up of several separate bones. A pelvic fracture is a break in any one of those bones. Some pelvic fractures involve breaking more than one of the bones, and these are particularly serious as the bones are more likely to slip out of line.
Perhaps the most important way of classifying pelvic fractures is into stable or unstable fractures. Most pelvic fractures are stable: the broken bones are still properly lined up, so that the ring has kept its shape. Usually only one bone is affected, with a single fracture.
Unstable fracture: this usually occurs when there are two or more breaks in the pelvic ring and the ends of the broken bones move apart. This type of fracture is more likely to occur after high-impact injury and there may, therefore, be other associated injuries including damage to the internal organs.
Some patients require internal fixation to keep the bones in place. This is open surgery, performed under anaesthetic. The bone fragments are repositioned, then held together with screws or metal plates which are left permanently in place. Getting the pelvis fixed and stable is very important both for pain control and for the long-term results of your treatment. It is more likely to be necessary if there are multiple fractures.
Hip Trauma
Hip fractures
A hip fracture generally refers to a fracture through the top part of the femur and involves the hip joint. The hip is a ball-in-socket joint and when the ball is broken off (neck of femur fracture) it generally needs to be repositioned and fixed or replaced. Whether a fracture can be fixed or needs to be replaced, depends on multiple factors. A general rule is that hip replacement surgery should be avoided in young, active patients and therefore fractures are best fixed.
Hip fracture fixation is done with pins, plates or nails. After fixation, the fracture still needs to heal and patients are often advised not to put to much weight on the affected limb until healing is confirmed. This toe-touch weight bearing phase might take 8 to 12 weeks.
Acetabulum fractures
The acetabulum is part of the pelvis and is the socket part of the ball-in-socket joint. This part of the hip joint is often stronger than the femur part and therefore requires more force to fracture. Any fracture through the socket has a potential for damaging the cartilage of the hip joint. Depending on the amount of displacement and the amount of instability, the acetabulum fracture may need to be fixed to allow patients to be move again. This type of surgery is quite invasive. Surgery is carefully planned with use of 3D models. After surgery patients are mostly allowed to touch-weight bear after several days of bedrest. As with other pelvis fractures, the healing can take a long time and pain and disability may persist.
Hip Replacement
Hip replacement surgery is most commonly done when the cartilage is worn out (osteoarthritis). The right time to have joint replacement surgery is when the hip pain you experience is interfering with your life and you really want something done about it. Some people decide to have surgery because they are no longer able to work. Others just want to be able to walk the dog again and this surgery can then make a significant difference to their lives. Even though it is invasive surgery, the success rates and patient satisfaction are very high. For more information contact the rooms.