Anatomy, Radiographic Evaluation, and Classification
of Pelvic Ring Injuries
Robert M. Harris MDMedical Director of Orthopaedic Trauma
Mountain States Health AllianceEast Tenn State University Quillen School of Medicine
Revised November 2010
Created March 2004Revised April 2007
By Kyle Dickson MD
• Marker for severe injury
• Overall mortality 6-10%
• Life threatening
Pelvic Ring Disruption
Magnitude of Forces
• ACL injury 500-1000N• LC-I pelvic fracture 6000-9000N
Bone Anatomy
Two innominate bones with sacrum.
Coalesce at triradiate cartilage.
Ilium, ishium and pubis have three separate ossification centers that fuse at sixteen years.
• Gap in symphysis < 5 mm• SI joint 2-4 mm
Ligamentous Anatomy
• Ligaments - posterior ligaments are stronger than anterior ligaments:
Posterior SI Anterior SI Interosseous ligaments Pubic symphysis Sacrotuberous Sacrospinous
ANATOMY
LigamentousLigamentous
ASIASI
STSTSSSS
PSIPSI
STST
Posterior Ligaments• Ant. SI Joint – resist external rotation• Post. SI and Interosseous – posterior stability by tension band
(strongest in body)• Iliolumbar ligaments augments posterior complex• Sacrotuberous (sacrum behind sacro-spinous into ischial tuberosily
vertically)Resists shear and flexion of SI joint • Sacrospinous – (anterior sacral body to ischial spine horizontally)
resists external rotation
Normal SI Joint Motion with Gait• < 6 mm of translation• < 6° rotation• Intact cadaver resist 5,837 N (1,212 lbs)
ANATOMY
RelationshipsRelationships
Vascular Anatomy
• Internal iliac artery courses medial to the vein, splits into anterior and posterior branches.
• Posterior branch is more likely injured (SGA is largest branch).
• Usual bleeding is from venous plexus.
Potentially Damaged Visceral Anatomy
• Blunt vs. impaled by bony spike– Bladder/urethra– Rectum – Vagina
Pelvic Stability
• Strength of ring: 40% anterior and 60% posterior.
• Vsphere = 4/3r³.
• Stability – ability of pelvic ring to withstand physiologic forces without abnormal deformation
IDENTIFY THE HIGH RISK PELVIC DISRUPTION
By Physical ExamBy Physical Exam
By RadiographyBy Radiography
Physical Exam
• Physical Exam-poor sensitivity (8%) for mechanically unstable pelvis fractures in blunt trauma patients
• Shlamovitz GZ, Mower WR, Morgan MT-Journal of Trauma Mar 09
Radiographs
• Anteroposterior (AP)• Inlet (40° caudad)• Outlet (40 ° cephalad)• CT scan• Judet (acetabular
fractures)
AP VIEWAP VIEW
If evidence of pelvic ring fracture...If evidence of pelvic ring fracture...
INLET VIEWINLET VIEW
Inlet (Caudad) View
• Horizontal Plane Rotation
• Posterior Displacement
• Sacral ala
OUTLET VIEWOUTLET VIEW
Outlet (Cephalad) View
• Sacrum• Cephalad
Displacement• Sacral Foramina
CT Scan
• Better defines posterior injury• Amount of displacement versus impaction• Rotation of fragments• Amount of comminution• Assess neural foramina
CT SCANCT SCAN
3D CT
Radiographic Signs of Instability
• Sacroiliac displacement of 5 mm in any plane
• Posterior fracture gap (rather than impaction)
• Avulsion of fifth lumbar transverse process, lateral border of sacrum (sacrotuberous ligament), or ischial spine (sacrospinous ligament)
Translational Deformities
• X axis – Diastasis or impaction• Y axis – Caudad or cephalad displacement• Z axis – Anterior or posterior displacement
Rotational Deformities• X axis – Flexion or extension• Y axis – Internal rotation or external
rotation• Z axis – Abduction or adduction
Classification
• Aids in predicting hemodynamic instability• Aids in predicting visceral and g.u. injuries• Aids in predicting pelvic instability• Aids in understanding mechanism of injury,
force vector of injury, and surgical tactic for reduction
Classification Systems
• Anatomical (Letournel)• Stability & Deformity (Pennal, Bucholz,
Tile)• Vector force and associated injuries (Young
& Burgess)• OTA-research
Anatomical Classification(Letournel)
Where The Pelvis Breaks
Anterior Posterior
• Rami fractures• Symphyseal disruption
• Iliac wing fracture• Iliac wing/sacroiliac
(SI) joint (crescent fracture)
• SI joint• Sacrum/SI joint• Sacrum fracture
Pennal, 1961 Bucholz, 1981 Tile, 1988
• Magnitude and direction of forces– Lateral posterior
compression (LC)
– Anterior posterior compression (APC)
– Vertical shear (VS)
• Added stability to the classification
Tile Classification• Type A: Stable fracture.• Type B: Rotationally unstable, but vertically stable.• Type C: Rotationally and vertically unstable.
OTA/AO – Pelvic Injury Classification
• 61A – Lesion sparing (or with no displacement of ) posterior arch
• B – Incomplete disruption at posterior arch; partially stable
• C – Complete disruption of posterior arch; unstable
A Fractures – Ring Intact
• A-1 – Fracture of innominate bone; avulsion
• A-2 – Fracture of innominate bone; direct blow
• A-3 – Transverse fracture of sacrum and coccyx
B-Ring Injury – Partially stable
• B-1 – Unilateral partial disruption of posterior arch, external rotation (“open book” injury)
• B-2 – Unilateral, partial disruption of posterior arch, internal rotation (lateral compression injury)
• B-3 – Bilateral, partial lesion of posterior arch
C – Complete Disruption Posterior Arch, Unstable Pelvis
• C-1 – Unilateral, complete disruption of posterior arch
• C-2 – Bilateral, ipsilateral complete, contralateral incomplete
• C –3 – Bilateral, complete disruption
Young-Burgess Radiology 1986• Based on mechanism of injury• Predictive of associated local & distant injury• Useful for planning acute treatment
MECHANISM OF INJURY (MOI)
• Do initial radiographs agree with MOI in pelvic ring disruptions- Linnau KF, Blackmore CC, Routt ML, Mock CN-J Ortho Trauma Jul 2007
• more reliable for LC than AP mechanisms
MECHANISM OF INJURY
• Lateral compressionLateral compression (implosion)
• AP compressionAP compression (external rotation)
• Vertical shearVertical shear
• Combined injuryCombined injury
LATERAL COMPRESSION LATERAL COMPRESSION fracture of anterior fracture of anterior ring plus:ring plus:
LC -I Compression fracture of anterior LC -I Compression fracture of anterior sacrumsacrum
LC -II Iliac wing fracture posteriorly LC -II Iliac wing fracture posteriorly (unstable)(unstable)
LC -III Windswept pelvis (contralateral SI LC -III Windswept pelvis (contralateral SI injury)injury)
ANTERIOR-POSTERIOR COMPRESSIONANTERIOR-POSTERIOR COMPRESSION APC - I Partial disruptionAPC - I Partial disruption APC - II Posterior sacroiliac ligaments intactAPC - II Posterior sacroiliac ligaments intact APC - III Posterior sacroiliac ligaments APC - III Posterior sacroiliac ligaments
disrupteddisrupted VERTICAL SHEAR VERTICAL SHEAR cephlad and posterior cephlad and posterior
displacementdisplacement
COMBINED MECHANISM COMBINED MECHANISM (LC & VS most (LC & VS most common)common)
Young-Burgess Classification
CLASSIFICATIONMechanism and direction of injury
DISRUPTED PELVIC RING
• Posterior/SI injury is a marker
for associated vascular injuries
• Tamponade efforts and fluid
resuscitation may be rendered
useless
Resuscitation
• Young and Burgess classification:– LC III
– APC II
– APC III
– VS
– CM
2.3 3.17.4 9.4 7.6
35.4
05
10152025303540
LC-I LC-II LC-III VS AP-II AP-III
units blood 1st 24 hours
RESUSCITATION REQUIREMENTS
6.60%
0%
20%
LC VS APC
DeathDeaths:s:
Mortality
Interobserver Reliability of the Young/Burgess and Tile classifications
• Koo H, Leveridge M, McKee,MD, Schemitsch EH, J Ortho Trauma Jul 2008
– Young/Burgess –Kappa .72-better for the training surgeon
– CT-improved assessment of stability
• Furey AJ, O”Toole RV, Turen C, Ortho June 2009– Interobserver – moderate degree of agreement– Intraobserver- moderate for Tile
• Substantial for Burgess
LATERAL COMPRESSION
LC I:LC I: Sacral compression Sacral compression
Lateral Compression• Most common pattern.• LC1 – stable, load to posterior ring.• LC2 – load to anterior ring, posterior ligaments
injured, ST and SS intact.• LC3 – LC2 + external rotation injury of the
other side.
LC-I
LATERAL COMPRESSION
Common anterior patternCommon anterior pattern
LATERAL COMPRESSION
LC I: LC I: Sacral compressionSacral compression
What Constitutes a LCI
• Lefaivre KA, Padalecki JR, Starr AJ- J Ortho Trauma Jan 2009
• LC I-Spectrum of injuries
• Complete sacral disruptions– Denis classification– Predicted by severity of anterior pelvic ring disruption– Abdominal AIS– Rami fracture location– ISS
LATERAL COMPRESSION
LC II:LC II: Iliac wing fracture Iliac wing fracture
LC-II
LC-II
LC III: “ Windswept pelvis”
LC III
LC III
LC III
Anteroposterior Compression
• APC1- stable injury, anterior ligament injury.• APC2 – SS and anterior SI injury, possibly ST.• APC3 – anterior and posterior injury, completely
unstable.
ANTEROPOSTERIOR COMPRESSION
AP I:AP I: Hockey player Hockey player
AP I
• Note that the ligaments are stretched, and not torn
APII:APII: Open book pelvisOpen book pelvis
ANTEROPOSTERIOR COMPRESSIONANTEROPOSTERIOR COMPRESSION
AP II
• APC-2 – Sacrotuberous, sacrospinous, and anterior SI joint ligaments disrupted (post SI ligaments intact)
• Note: pelvic floor ligaments areare violated, as well as anterior SI ligaments
AP-II
AP IILigamentous pathologyLigamentous pathology
AP IIThese anterior SI ligaments are disrupted...These anterior SI ligaments are disrupted...
But these But these posteriorposterior SI ligaments remain intact SI ligaments remain intact
ANTEROPOSTERIOR COMPRESSION
APC III:APC III: Complete iliosacral dissociation Complete iliosacral dissociation
•APC-3 – Complete SI joint disruption •(usually not vertically displaced)
•APC-3 – Complete SI joint disruption •(usually not vertically displaced)
AP III
APC-III
AP III
ASSOCIATED INJURIES
Lateral Compression: Abdominal visceral injury Head injury Few pelvic vascular injuries
AP Compression: Urologic injury Hemorrhage/pelvic vascular injury:
APCII-10%, APCIII-22%
Vertical Shear
• Always unstable• Ant. symphsis or vertical rami fractures-
post. Injury variable• Vertical displacement
VERTICAL SHEAR
Vertically unstable – often due to a unilateral injury.
Similar to APC3.
Vertically unstable – often due to a unilateral injury.
Similar to APC3.
VERTICAL SHEAR
COMBINED MECHANICAL INJURY
Combined vectors occasionally 2 separate
injuries (ejection/landing)
Often LC/VS, or AP/VS
Combined vectors occasionally 2 separate
injuries (ejection/landing)
Often LC/VS, or AP/VS
COMBINED MECHANICAL INJURY
CLASSIFY INJURY (Young-Burgess)CLASSIFY INJURY (Young-Burgess)CLASSIFY INJURY (Young-Burgess)CLASSIFY INJURY (Young-Burgess)
LC-I, AP-ILC-I, AP-ILC-I, AP-ILC-I, AP-I AP-IIAP-IIAP-IIAP-II AP-III, VSAP-III, VSAP-III, VSAP-III, VS
ConservativeConservativeTreatmentTreatment
ConservativeConservativeTreatmentTreatment
AnteriorAnteriorStabilizationStabilization
AnteriorAnteriorStabilizationStabilization
Anterior and Anterior and Posterior StabilizationPosterior Stabilization
Anterior and Anterior and Posterior StabilizationPosterior Stabilization
Surgeon variability in the treatment of pelvic ring injuries
• Furey AJ, O”Toole RV, Nascone JW, Sciadini MF- Ortho Oct 2010
• Young and Burgess, and Tile Classifications• Kappa Value-
– Intraobserver- 0.56 moderate agreement
– Interobserver- 0.47 moderate agreement
• Consistent treatment for certain patterns
References• Surgeon variability in the treatment of pelvic ring injuries.
Furey AJ, O'Toole RV, Nascone JW, Copeland CE, Turen C, Sciadini MF. Orthopedics. 2010 Oct 11;33(10)
• . Classification of pelvic fractures: analysis of inter- and intraobserver variability using the Young-Burgess and Tile classification systems.Furey AJ, O'Toole RV, Nascone JW, Sciadini MF, Copeland CE, Turen C. Orthopedics. 2009 Jun;32(6):401
• Interobserver reliability of the young-burgess and tile classification systems for fractures of the pelvic ring.Koo H, Leveridge M, Thompson C, Zdero R, Bhandari M, Kreder HJ, Stephen D, McKee MD, Schemitsch EH.Division of Orthopaedic Surgery; and daggerMartin Orthopaedic Biomechanics Lab, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. J Orthop Trauma. 2008 Jul;22(6):379-84
• Fracture of the pelvis: current concepts of classification.Young JW, Resnik CS.Department of Radiology, University of Maryland Medical System/Hospital, Baltimore 21201. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 1990 Dec;155(6):1169-75.
• Do initial radiographs agree with crash site mechanism of injury in pelvic ring disruptions? A pilot study.Linnau KF, Blackmore CC, Kaufman R, Nguyen TN, Routt ML Jr, Stambaugh LE 3rd, Jurkovich GJ, Mock CN.Department of Radiology, Harborview Medical Center, Seattle, Washington 98104-2499, USA. J Orthop Trauma. 2007 Jul;21(6):375-80.
References• How (un)useful is the pelvic ring stability examination in diagnosing mechanically unstable pelvic fractures in
blunt trauma patients? Shlamovitz GZ, Mower WR, Bergman J, Chuang KR, Crisp J, Hardy D, Sargent M, Shroff SD, Snyder E, Morgan MT. Department of Emergency Medicine and Traumatology, Hartford Hospital, UCONN School of Medicine, University of Connecticut, Hartford, Connecticut, USA. J Trauma. 2009 Mar;66(3):815-20
• What constitutes a Young and Burgess lateral compression-I (OTA 61-B2) pelvic ring disruption? A description of computed tomography-based fracture anatomy and associated injuries. Lefaivre KA, Padalecki JR, Starr AJ. Department of Orthopaedics Surgery, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA. J Orthop Trauma. 2009 Jan;23(1):16-21.
• Predicting blood loss in isolated pelvic and acetabular high-energy trauma. Magnussen RA, Tressler MA, Obremskey WT, Kregor PJ. Division of Orthopaedic Trauma, Vanderbilt Orthopaedic Institute, Nashville, Tennessee 37232-8774, USA. Orthop Trauma. 2007 Oct;21(9):603-7
• Pelvic disruption: assessment and classification. Pennal GF, Tile M, Waddell JP, Garside H. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 1980 Sep;(151):12-21
• Pelvic fractures: value of plain radiography in early assessment and management. Young JW, Burgess AR, Brumback RJ, Poka A. Radiology. 1986 Aug;160(2):445-51
• Pelvic ring disruptions: effective classification system and treatment protocols.Burgess AR, Eastridge BJ, Young JW, Ellison TS, Ellison PS Jr, Poka A, Bathon GH, Brumback RJ.Shock Trauma Center, Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems, Baltimore J Trauma. 1990 Jul;30(7):848-56
See Emergent Management of Pelvic Injuries for Application of
Classification to Treatment
Acknowledgment
Return to Pelvis Index
E-mail OTA about
Questions/Comments
If you would like to volunteer as an author for the Resident Slide Project or recommend updates to any of the following slides, please send an e-mail to [email protected]
Andy Burgess and Kyle Dickson for the use of their slides
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