Simultaneous ilioinguinal and Kocher-Langenbeck approaches for the treatment of complex acetabular fractures

Complex acetabular fractures are best treated by a surgical approach. Although some other variables such as comminution or cartilage lesion of the femoral head are related to the final outcome, early anatomic reduction is the only way to get good results; this has made the appropriate type of surgical approach of overwhelming importance. Seeing the fracture and also having the possibility of manoeuvring its fragments as much as required are the keys for reduction of these sort of fractures. In this paper we have studied the results of the treatment of complex acetabular fractures by simultaneous ilioinguinal and Kocher-Langenbeck approaches. Ten cases of complex fractures out of 260 surgically treated acetabular fractures were chosen for simultaneous combined approaches. In cases of comminution of both the anterior and the posterior columns together with circumferential shortening of the pelvic ring, reduction and stable internal fixation could be accomplished only by simultaneous combined accesses.