Impact of timing of pelvic fixation on functional outcome

Pelvic fractures are the third most common cause of death in motor vehicle accidents. Recent improvements in mortality can be attributed to the progress made in modern critical care medicine, multidetector CT, ATLS principles, multidisciplinary protocols and early fracture stabilisation. Currently, the timing of pelvic fixation is often based on the haemodynamic status and response of the patient to resuscitation, the fracture pattern, the presence of associated injuries and the immuno-inflammatory status of the patient. The purpose of this review is to focus on the impact of timing of reconstruction of pelvic fractures on the functional outcome of the patients. Thirty seven scientific studies on the outcome of pelvic and acetabular injuries were reviewed. Four on pelvic ring fractures, and one study on pelvic and acetabular fractures met our second inclusion criterion of prospective or retrospective studies investigating the outcome after early or late pelvic and acetabular fixation. These five studies suggested early pelvic and acetabular fixation for optimal outcome but their main difference was the definition of the length in time of that early period. In polytrauma patients, the "damage control orthopaedics" principle should be applied for haemodynamic and skeletal stabilisation (and faecal diversion, if indicated in cases of open fractures of the pelvis). The definitive fixation should be performed after the fourth post-injury day, when the physiological state of the patient is conducive to surgery.