La fijación externa en el tratamiento de urgencia de las fracturas inestables de pelvis

SUMMARY Objective: To evaluate the results of the external fixation in the urgency treatment of the unstable pelvis ring fractures, during the period january 1989 and december 2000. Material and method: A retrospective study of 53 patients with an average age of 37.8 years and average follow-up of 82.5 months was performed. The mechanism of injuries were collisions in 21 cases (39.6%), crushing in 18 cases (34.0%), running over in 9 cases (17.0%) and over turning in 5 cases (9.4%). Thirty nine patients having politraumatic lesions (73.6%). The external fixation was the definitive treatment in 21 cases (39.6%) and internal fixation was performed in 32 cases (60.4%). Results: The clinical results were excellent in 31 cases (58.5%), good in 16 cases (30.2%), regular in 5 cases (9.4%) and poor in 1 case (1.9%). The radiological results were satisfactory in 45 cases (84.1%) and unsatisfactory in 8 cases (15.1%). The complications were infections of the pins in 7 cases (13.2%) and cortical perforation in 2 cases (3.8%). Conclusion: The external fixation is an effective method for the urgency management of the unstable pelvic ring fractures and maybe utilized as a transitory or definitive treatment.