Set-screw loosening of spinopelvic crab-shaped fixation for a patient with vertically unstable pelvic ring fracture

Yohei Yanagisawa; Tomomi Kotaki; Shun Nakajima; Masafumi Uesugi; Masashi Yamazaki

doi:10.1016/j.tcr.2022.100725

Set-screw loosening of spinopelvic crab-shaped fixation for a patient with vertically unstable pelvic ring fracture

Trauma Case Rep. 2022 Oct 19:42:100725. doi: 10.1016/j.tcr.2022.100725. eCollection 2022 Dec.

Authors

Yohei Yanagisawa^{1

2}, Tomomi Kotaki², Shun Nakajima², Masafumi Uesugi³, Masashi Yamazaki²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine, University of Tsukuba Hospital, 2-1-1 Amakubo, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8576, Japan.
² Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8575, Japan.
³ Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Ibaraki Seinan Medical Center Hospital, 2190 Sakai, Ibaraki 306-0433, Japan.

Abstract

Spinopelvic fixation (SPF) is an effective treatment method for vertically unstable pelvic ring fractures with spinopelvic dissociations (Patel et al., 2022). A heavy container fell on a 35-year-old man who was trapped and sustained injuries. His pelvic ring fracture dislocation was identified as AO Classification 61-C2.3 with rotational and vertical unstable pelvic ring; thus, crab-shaped fixation (SPF modification) was performed (Okuda et al., 2019). The pelvic fracture was fused, and the clinical outcome was good with modified Majeed score of 96. However, set-screw loosening was observed during the postoperative course. Reports of implant failures in SPF for unstable pelvic ring fractures commonly occur. However, only a few reports have demonstrated implant failure of crab-shaped fixation. Written informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this case report and accompanying images.

Keywords: Crab-shaped fixation; Lumbopelvic fixation; Set-screw loosening; Spinopelvic dissociation; Spinopelvic fixation; Unstable pelvic ring fracture.

Publication types

Case Reports