What Exactly Is? Acetabular Fracture

An acetabular fracture is a break in the “ball-and-socket” hip joint socket. Hip socket fractures are uncommon, occurring far less common than fractures of the upper femur or femoral head (the joint’s “ball” section).

A high-energy event, such as a vehicle accident causes the vast majority of acetabular fractures. Patients frequently have further injuries that necessitate rapid treatment.

A low-energy occurrence, such as a fall from standing, may produce an acetabular fracture in an older person with weaker bones in a reduced proportion of cases.

Surgery to restore normal hip architecture and stabilize the hip joint is frequently used to treat acetabular fractures.

Nonsurgical Therapy in Gurgaon

Nonsurgical treatment may be suggested for stable fractures with no displaced bones. It may also be indicated for patients who are more likely to experience surgical problems. Patients with severe osteoporosis, heart disease, or other medical issues, for example, may be unable to withstand surgery.

Nonsurgical options include:

• Assistance in walking. To prevent putting weight on your leg, your doctor may advise you to use crutches or a walker for up to three months—or until your bones have healed completely.
• Assistive devices for positioning. If your doctor is concerned about joint instability (the ball of your hip slipping within or popping out of the socket), he or she may limit the position of your hip, limiting how far you may bend it. An abduction cushion or knee immobilizer, for example, can assist you in maintaining these constraints.
• Medications. Your doctor may give pain relievers as well as an anti-coagulant (blood thinner) to lower the chance of blood clots forming in your leg veins.

Surgical Intervention

The majority of acetabular fractures are treated surgically. Because acetabular fractures impair the cartilage surface of the bone, restoring a smooth, gliding hip surface is an important goal of surgery.

During the procedure, your doctor will rebuild the normal architecture of the hip joint by aligning bone pieces to restore the acetabulum surface and fitting the femoral head into the hip socket.

Surgery timing. The majority of acetabular fractures are not treated properly. Your doctor may postpone your surgery for a few days to ensure that your overall condition is stable and that you are ready for the procedure.

During this time, your doctor may use skeletal traction on your leg to immobilize the fracture and avoid further injury or damage to the hip socket. A metal pin is placed in the femur or tibia bone during skeletal traction. Weights attached to the pin gently pull on the leg, attempting to preserve the broken bone fragments as normally as possible. Skeletal traction also gives some pain alleviation for many people.

Internal Fixation and Open Reduction

The misplaced bone fragments are initially realigned (reduced) into their natural alignment during surgery.

Your doctor will then apply metal plates and screws to the bone’s outer surfaces to keep the fragments together while they recover.

Your doctor will make an incision in the front, side, or rear of your hip, depending on the position of your fracture. A combination of methodologies or an alternate strategy is utilized on occasion.

Hip Replacement Surgery in Gurgaon

In rare circumstances, the acetabulum is so badly damaged that repair or rebuilding is unlikely to yield a satisfactory long-term result. In this case, your doctor may advise total hip replacement. The damaged bone and articular cartilage are removed and replaced with artificial pieces (prosthesis) during this operation.

Before conducting a total hip replacement, the doctor will use screw and plate fixation to realign the bones into their normal alignment whenever possible. If this is not possible, the doctor may postpone the treatment for a period of time to allow the fracture to heal in its unaligned position first. He or she will next execute a total hip replacement, which involves replacing the crooked hip socket with a total hip prosthesis.

Dr. Lokesh Garg is counted among one of the most famed & experienced Pelvic acetabular trauma surgeon in Gurgaon. Best Pelvic acetabular trauma Treatment Hospital in Gurgaon Sector 52, 90, led by Pelvic acetabular trauma specialist Gurgaon.