Purpose: Acetabular fractures in elderly patients are difficult problems with various treatment options. Our institution treats many of these patients with percutaneous acetabular fixation. We reviewed medical records and contacted patients to determine the rate of conversion to total hip arthroplasty.

Method: Our institutional trauma database was searched for all patients age 60 and older who had been treated with percutaneous screw fixation for an acetabular fracture. Seventy-nine consecutive patients (80 fractures) were identified. Medical records were examined to obtain peri-operative and follow-up information regarding the hospital course and conversion to total hip arthroplasty. A survivorship anaylsis was created with conversion to total hip arthroplasty as the censored event, and standard Kaplan-Meier curves were constructed. Five categorical variables were used to test for differences in survival of the native hip: age, sex, simple versus complex fracture pattern, closed versus limited open reduction, and occurrence of a medical complication.

Results: Seventy-five fractures had adequate clinical follow-up with a mean of 3.9 years (range 0.5 – 11.9 years). Average blood loss was 69 cc and there were no postoperative infections. 19/75 (25%) were converted to total hip arthroplasty at a mean time of 1.4 years after the index procedure. Survivorship analysis demonstrated a cumulative survival of 65% at 11.9 years of follow-up. There were no conversions to arthroplasty beyond 4.7 post-operatively. There were no statistically significant associations between conversion to arthroplasty and age, sex, closed versus limited open reduction, simple versus complex fracture pattern, and occurrence of a medical complication.

Conclusion: Percutaneous fixation is a viable treatment option for patients age 60 or greater with acetabular fractures. Rates of conversion to total hip arthroplasty are comparable to other treatment methods and if conversion is required, soft tissues are preserved for future surgery.