Secure paediatric pelvic fracture external fixation using an intraoperative support device

Abstract

Secure fixation by inserting a half-pin into the iliac crest as a pelvic external fixator is important. However, the thickness of the iliac bone depends on its location and this makes it difficult to insert a half-pin accurately. The iliac crest is especially narrow in the paediatric pelvis, making it difficult to insert the half-pin accurately compared with an adult pelvis. A case of pelvic external fixation is described for a paediatric pelvic fracture in this report, in which preoperative planning for half-pin insertion was performed accurately using a preoperative three-dimensional CT based on an intraoperative support device that uses the functional pelvic plane as a reference.

Keywords: Orthopaedic and trauma surgery; Orthopaedics.