Purpose: To describe operative experience and reductions of pelvic ring fractures treated with a novel pelvic reduction frame.

Method: All patients with displaced pelvic ring disruptions treated with the pelvic reduction frame were included. The series includes 35 patients, with 34 acute fractures and one malunion. Pre-operative and immediate post-operative radiographs were reviewed, and maximal displacement measured using two reproducible methods. Procedure and injury data were also recorded.

Results: In our series of 35 patients, we had 19 vertical shear fractures and 16 compression injuries. Mean age was 33.5 + 2.4, and mean delay to surgery was 4.7 + 0.6 days. Mean operative time in isolated procedures was 103.4 + 6.5 minutes. All but one patient had iliosacral screws placed, 18 had anterior column screws, six had symphysis plates and 12 had anterior external fixators. Maximum horizontal or vertical displacement was improved from 30.8 + 2.7 mm to 7.1 + 0.7 mm. Diameter asymmetry as measured on the AP view was improved form 26.4 + 2.7 mm to 5.2 + 0.7 mm. Very good, good or fair reduction was obtained in all acute cases. There was no statistically significant impact of obesity, fracture type or delay to surgery on quality of reduction (p> 0.05).

Conclusion: This novel pelvic reduction frame is a powerful tool in the effective reduction and fixation of displaced acute pelvic ring disruptions.

We describe our early operative experience with a new pelvic reduction frame and the standard of reduction of fractures of the pelvic ring which we achieved in the first 35 consecutive patients, with 34 acute fractures and one nonunion. The pre-operative and immediate post-operative radiographs were measured, using two methods, to find the maximum radiological displacement of the fracture and the quality of the reduction according to the criteria of Tornetta and Matta.

There were 19 vertical shear fractures and 16 compression injuries. The mean age of the patients was 33.5 years (10 to 59) and mean delay to surgery was 4.6 days (0 to 16) in the 34 acute injuries. The mean operative time in isolated procedures was 103.4 minutes (sd 6.5). All but one patient had iliosacral screws implanted, 18 had screws in the anterior column, six had plates at the symphysis pubis and 12 had anterior external fixators. The mean maximum horizontal or vertical displacement was improved from 30.8 mm (sd 2.7) to a mean of 7.1 mm (sd 0.7). The reduction was assessed as excellent in ten patients, good in 18, and fair in the remainder. There was no significant influence on the quality of the reduction caused by obesity (p = 0.34), the type of fracture (p = 0.41) or delay to surgery (p = 0.83).

The frame was shown to be effective, allowing the surgeon to obtain a satisfactory reduction and fixation of acute displaced disruptions of the pelvic ring.