The choice of surgical approach in the treatment of two-column acetabular fractures

The study aimed a comparison of treatment results in patients with two-column acetabular fractures (AO, Type C) when using different operative approaches: ilioinguinal (12), Y-type (16) and a combination of posterior-lateral and ilioinguinal approaches (3). Surgical treatment was carried out not later than 3 weeks after injury. The joint congruence was reached in all the cases. The operative time, blood loss, complications, long-term results of treatment were evaluated. The study showed the effectiveness of ilioinguinal approach in case of the simple two-column fractures. When treating patients with complex fractures of the anterior column, the authors found no significant difference in operative time and intraoperative blood loss between the cases of V-type and combined approaches. In patients with two-column fractures accompanied with posterior wall lesion the time of surgery was significantly lower when using the Y-shaped approach as against the two different approaches.