Review Article

Osteoporotic Pelvic Ring Fractures

Georgios Gatos¹, Christos Zafeiris², Efstathios Chronopoulos³, Angelos Trellopoulos¹, Emmanouil Brilakis¹, Emmanouil Antonogiannakis¹

1. 3^rd Orthpaedic Department, Hygeia Hospital, Athens, Greece
2. Metropolitan General Hospital, Athens, Greece
3. National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece

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Keywords: Fracture, Lesion, Osteoporosis, Pelvic ring, Sacrum

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Abstract

The pelvic ring is a complicated anatomical structure which consists of the sacral bone, the iliac, ischial and pubic compartments and the pubic symphysis. In the elderly, osteoporotic fractures of the pelvic ring are often caused by low energy trauma. They are very rarely accompanied by neurological, vascular or endopelvic organ injuries. There has been a rise in the incidence of such trauma due to the increase of life expectancy, population aging and improvement of diagnostic and evaluation techniques. Pelvic ring fractures are often missed or under evaluated, resulting in remaining pain and great disability. Thorough assessment of the clinical presentation and medical history of the patient along with the needed imaging tests are vital for choosing the suitable therapeutic approach. Pelvic ring fractures are classified according to many systems. The most popular one is Denis et al classification, which is slowly replaced by the Young-Burgess classification, based on the applied force's direction. FFP classification aids in the diagnosis and leads the treatment algorithm. The AO/OTA cooperative categorization can help improve common understanding of such pathologies. Treatment sequence can be conservative or surgical and aims to pain management and rapid mobilization. However, it must always include the suitable osteoporotic therapy.

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