Urinary tract injury associated with pelvic fractures

Pelvic trauma associated with urinary tract injury is a severe trauma, mostly caused by traffic accidents and falls from heights. These injuries require urgent treatment and close teamwork between urologic and orthopaedic surgeons.

In this retrospective study there were analyzed patients with pelvic trauma and extraperitoneal injury of urinary tract, treated surgically at Clinic for Ortopaedic Surgery and Traumatology and Urology Clinic in Clinical Center Nis. Surgical intervention in these patients had been realized as the synchronized work of both orthopaedic and urologic surgeons. The pelvis was treated by external and internal fixation. Mitkovic type external fixator was used for pelvic external fixation. Plating was used for pelvic internal fixation. Pelvic fractures were classified using Tile's classification system. The final functional results had been scored using Majeed score system.

There were 42 patients with the injury of pelvic ring, treated at Clinic for Ortopaedic Surgery and Traumatology and at Urology Clinic, Clinical Center Nis, in the period of 01.01.2011. to 31.12.2013, 30 males and 12 females, with average age of 53.69 (19-84) years old. In 80% of cases pelvic fractures were caused by high energy trauma in traffic accidents. According to Tile's classification, 9 patients (21,42%) had pelvic fracture type A, 23 patients (54,46%) had pelvic fracture type B and 10 patients (23,80%) had pelvic fracture type C. Urinary tract injury was diagnosed in 9 patients (21,42%): 5 patients (11,9%) with bladder injury, 3 patients (7,14%) with posterior urethra injury and 1 patient (2,38%) with both bladder and posterior urethra injury.

Urgent repair of extraperitoneal urinary tract injury by urologic surgeons and synchronized pelvic reduction and fixation using external or internal fixation by ortopaedic surgeon, in the same surgical procedure, is the standard method for treatment of this severe injury.