Clinical outcomes of percutaneous screw fixation of acetabular fracture: A minimally invasive procedure

Objective: Open reduction with internal fixation is the surgical intervention of choice for acetabular fractures (AFs). Percutaneous screw fixation for AFs is a new procedure that is desirable because of the complex anat-omy of the pelvis. In this study, we aimed to assess the functional outcomes, mobility, healing, and distal neu-rovascular abnormalities in patients who underwent percutaneous retrograde screw fixation. Methods: Our study included 36 patients with AFs treated with percutaneous screw fixation between January 2016 and June 2021. There were 18 cases with anterior column AF, 7 cases with transverse AF, and 11 cases with associated AF, 6 of which had a T-shaped AF. Fre-quencies and percentages were used to describe charac-teristics and clinical outcomes. Mean and standard deviation were used for continuous variables. SPSS version 23 (IBM Corporation, Armonk, NY, USA) was used for statistical analysis. Results: The average time to regain full mobility with full weight bearing was 12.9 +/- 5.4 weeks, and approximately 11.1 +/- 2.8 weeks was required for patients to be pain-free with satisfactory fracture healing. Only a minority (8.3%) of patients had abnormalities affecting the distal neuro-vascular system, and 11.1% experienced sexual dysfunc-tion. Pain severity was assessed with a visual analogue scale. The average pain severity on the first and third post-operative days was 4 +/- 2.4 and 3.8 +/- 2.6, respec-tively. However, the average pain intensity before discharge was 1.7 +/- 2.6.Conclusion: Percutaneous screw fixation is the most effi-cient surgical choice for most pelvic/AFs.