[Classification and management of complex pelvic trauma]

Abstract

Complex pelvic traumas are pelvic fractures accompanied by pelvic soft tissue injuries. Mortality in major pelvic fractures with associated soft tissue injuries is high, and these injuries can pose a more complex range of therapeutic problems. Uncontrolled bleeding and septic complications are the main causes of death. There has been extensive work on grading pelvic ring fractures, but less attention has been paid to grading the accompanying soft tissue damage. Therefore, a grading system for pelvic injuries was developed that takes the soft tissue damage into account more than the fracture classification did when used alone. It is a point system that considers the fracture itself, the soft tissue injuries, including lesions in the pelvic organs, vessels and nerves, and the general concomitant injuries. From 1972 to 1990 the clinical course and outcome of 132 patients with complex pelvic traumas were reviewed. The mortality was 34.8%. Eighty-three of the patients (62.9%) underwent immediate laparotomy and in 68 patients (51.7%) open reduction and internal fixation of the unstable pelvic ring were performed. For better primary treatment of patients with complex pelvic injuries, a trauma algorithm is introduced. It leads to important therapeutic steps after brief clinical, ultrasonic and radiological assessments. The major questions in the flow chart take the pelvic ring and hemodynamic instability into account. Immediate laparotomy, surgical control of hemorrhage, and open reduction and internal fixation of an unstable pelvic ring represent the most important requirements for successful treatment.