Abstract
Introduction We present prospective and retrospective reviews of sacral nonunions treated with posterior tension band plate and iliosacral screws at Frenchay Hospital from 1994.
Methods Using the pelvis data base at Frenchay (Bristol, UK) Hospital six patients were identified. A further two patients were followed prospectively. Clinical outcome was measured using a visual analogue score ( VAS ) for pain. Radiological analysis was done using pre-injury x-ray and CT when available, pre-revision and post-operative CT. Eight patients were reviewed. Average follow-up was two years (range 6 months to 5.5 years). The average time from initial injury and surgery to diagnosis of sacral nonunion was 7.5 months (range 3 to 18). Six patients had been treated previously with sacro-iliac screws and an anterior external fixator.
Results Pre-operative VAS scores averaged 9.2, postoperatively they averaged 3.4. All nonunions fused radiologically post-operatively. Anterior posterior displacement was able to be corrected by an average of five millimetres. The three fractures that were vertically displaced were not corrected because of coexisting neurological injury.
Conclusions Posterior tension band plating and iliosacral screw fixation reliably allows union to be obtained in sacral nonunions.
The abstracts were prepared by Mr Jerzy Sikorski. Correspondence should be addressed to him at the Australian Orthopaedic Association, Ground Floor, William Bland Centre, 229 Macquarie Street, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia.
None of the authors have received any payment or consideration from any source for the conduct of this study.
