Corona mortis and pelvic dissection: Understanding the relationship between anatomical structures and bone areas

Pelvic fractures are becoming increasingly frequent. The gold standard for surgical managements remains open procedures. Despite its excellent biomechanically results, it can lead to many complications. Minimally invasive surgery could reduce these complications. For complex pelvic trauma, extraperitoneal endoscopic technique has never been described. The aim of this study is to determine anatomical landmarks which are useful for endoscopic pelvic ring surgery using an extraperitoneal approach. The second objective is to compare this minimally invasive procedure to expose the bone versus a traditional open approach. After preparing the vessels with latex injections, 10 specimens are dissected alternately, using an endoscopic method (MIS) on one side and an open method on the other side. Both procedures are performed on the same subject. The visualized bone areas are drilled with burr holes. The marked surfaces are measured with photogrammetry. Finally, the data are processed (surface analysis). An extraperitoneal endoscopic dissection that follows anatomical landmarks can be performed. Bone area (mm² ) visualized by endoscopy was 74 ± 14 (59-94) compared to 71 ± 16 (48-94) by open method. Paired t-test was performed with no significant difference between the two methods. Skin and muscular incisions were significantly lower in the MIS group (5.1, IC95% [4.1; 6.1], p < 0.001). An extraperitoneal endoscopic dissection of the pelvis can be performed. We also find no significant difference between our method and an open traditional approach concerning bone exposure. We offer a holistic approach to treat pelvic fractures by identifying key anatomical structures.