Abstract
When fixation of the sacro-iliac joint is necessary, the patient is often in a critically injured state.
Presently either cannulated screws are inserted under radiological control or plating is used. These techniques have drawbacks: the time-consuming cannulated screw technique is not always ideal in the polytraumatised patient, and fixation of plates generally calls for entry into non-injured areas.
Since 1999 the author has used the USSC spinal system to stabilise the sacro-iliac joint in four patients. The technique does not involve entry into non-injured tissues, and provides enough stability to mobilise the patient immediately.
The abstracts were edited by Prof. M.B.E. Sweet. Correspondence should be addressed to him at the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Medical School, University of the Witwatersrand, 7 York Road, Parktown, 2193 South Africa
