Temporary External Fixation to Table as a Traction Reduction Aide in the Treatment of Unstable Pelvic Ring Injuries: A Technical Note

Displaced pelvic ring injuries can be challenging to even the experienced orthopedic traumatologist. A temporary external fixation to table construct provides a quick, simple, and accessible means of external skeletal fixation to reliably obtain and maintain stable hemipelvis reduction on the operating room table. The contralateral hemipelvis can be stabilized to the table by use of Steinman pins safely inserted into the subtrochanteric and anterior column regions and later connected to external fixator bars attached to the table. With rigid stabilization, the displaced contralateral pelvic fragment(s) can be reduced in a more vector intentional manner with greater force than the traditional means of pelvic reduction can allow. The skeletal-table fixation technique is presented along with two cases, a combined pelvic-acetabular injury and an isolated pelvic ring injury.