[Clinical and therapeutic analysis of 22 patients with traumatic spinopelvic dissociation]

To review the clinical characteristics of patients with traumatic spinopelvic dissociation (SPD) and explore the diagnostic and therapeutic methods.

A clinical data of 22 patients with SPD who underwent surgical treatment between March 2019 and August 2024 was retrospectively analyzed. There were 13 males and 9 females, with an average age of 35.5 years (range, 14-61 years). The causes of injury included falling from height in 16 cases, traffic accidents in 5 cases, and compression injury in 1 case. Sacral fractures were classified based on morphology into "U" type (9 cases), "H" type (7 cases), "T" type (4 cases), and "λ" type (2 cases). According to the Roy-Camille classification, there were 4 cases of type Ⅰ, 12 cases of type Ⅱ, 2 cases of type Ⅲ, and 4 cases of type Ⅳ. The Cobb angle was (35.7± 22.0)°. Sixteen patients were accompanied by lumbosacral trunk and cauda equina nerve injury, which was classified as grade Ⅱ in 5 cases, grade Ⅲ in 5 cases, and grade Ⅳ in 6 cases according to the Gibbons grading. The time from injury to operation was 2-17 days (mean, 5.7 days). Based on the type of sacral fracture and sacral nerve injury, 6 cases were treated with closed reduction and minimally invasive percutaneous sacroiliac screw fixation, 16 cases were treated with open reduction and lumbar iliac fixation (8 cases)/triangular fixation (8 cases). Among them, 11 patients with severe fracture displacement and kyphotic deformity leading to sacral canal stenosis or bony impingement within the sacral foramen underwent laminectomy and sacral nerve decompression. X-ray films and CT were reviewed during followed-up. The Matta score was used to evaluate the quality of fracture reduction. At last follow-up, the Majeed score was used to assess the functional recovery, and the Gibbons grading was used to evaluate the nerve function.

All operations were successfully completed. All patients were followed up 8-64 months (mean, 20.4 months). Two patients developed deep vein thrombosis of the lower limbs, 2 had incision infections, and 1 developed a sacral pressure ulcer; no other complications occurred. Radiological examination showed that the Cobb angle was (12.0±6.8)°, which was significantly different from the preoperative one ( t=6.000, P<0.001). The Cobb angle in 16 patients who underwent open reduction was (14.9±5.5)°, which was significantly different from the preoperative one [(46.8±13.9)° ] ( t=8.684, P<0.001). According to the Matta scoring criteria, the quality of fracture reduction was rated as excellent in 8 cases, good in 7 cases, fair in 5 cases, and poor in 2 cases, with an excellent and good rate of 68.2%. Bone callus formation was observed at the fracture site in all patients at 12 weeks after operation, and bony union achieved in all cases at last follow-up, with a healing time ranging from 12 to 36 weeks (mean, 17.6 weeks). At last follow-up, the Majeed score was rated as excellent in 7 cases, good in 10 cases, fair in 4 cases, and poor in 1 case, with an excellent and good rate of 77.3%. One patient experienced a unilateral iliac screw breakage at 12 months after operation, but the fracture had already healed, and there was no loss of reduction. Among the 16 patients with preoperative sacral nerve injury, 11 cases showed improvement in nerve function (6 cases) or recovery (5 cases).

SPD with low incidence, multiple associated injuries, and high incidence of sacral nerve injury, requires timely decompression of the sacral canal for symptomatic sacral nerve compression, fractures reduction, deformities correction, and stable fixation.