Outcomes of surgical management regarding acetabular fractures: cases from African countries

The management of acetabular fractures, which are severe injuries and often complex, is difficult and costly especially for poor and developing African countries.

To analyze and evaluate the functional and the radiological outcome of patients with acetabular fracture treated with open reduction and internal fixation.

It is a retrospective study on 24 patients treated with ORIF and followed up in the Trauma Orthopedic Surgery Department of the Military Hospital of Moulay Ismail of Meknès (MHMIM) between January 2014 and December 2019. The average follow-up duration was 35 months (range: 9-81 months). The functional and radiographic outcomes and complication were considered as the main facts in this study.

Twenty-four patients (male: 18, female: 6) with average age 38 years (range: 16 to 65 years) were operated for acetabular fracture. With Matta criteria use for assessing the radiological outcomes, the anatomical and good reduction was achieved in 79.1% of the patients. The functional results based on the modified Merle d'Aubigne and Postel criteria were judged excellent in 70.83%. Postoperative complications of acetabular fracture such as heterotopic ossification were found in 16%, post-traumatic arthritis in 20%, and avascular necrosis in 12.5% of patients.

As there is a strong correlation between anatomic reduction and clinical outcome, the ORIF constitutes an effective method for treatment of displaced acetabular fracture in young aged patients who are considered as the most vulnerable categories in our continent.