Operative management of sacroiliac joint dislocation in children with unstable pelvic fractures - A STROBE-compliant investigation.

OBJECTIVE: Injuries involving severe spinal axial loading may be accompanied by sacroiliac joint dislocations. In children, these injuries are relatively rare, and there is little information on their optimal management in young patients. We conducted a multicentre study to investigate the outcome of surgical treatment of unstable pelvic fracture with sacroiliac joint dislocation in children.

PATIENTS & METHODS: We assessed the quality of surgical reduction and functional outcome at follow-up in 7 patients (5 girls, 2 boys) with a median age of 6.4 years (range: 4.2-14.8 years). Patients with pelvic fractures and sacroiliac joint dislocations were treated at four international paediatric level 1 trauma centres between January 2008 and August 2023. We applied the Matta criteria to assess the quality of fracture reduction and graded the functional follow-up results using adjusted Majeed score.

RESULTS: At follow-up, 3 patients showed excellent fracture reduction, with 2 patients showing good reduction and 2 patients exhibiting fair fracture reduction according to the Matta criteria. At follow-up visits at a median of 12 months (range: 3-84 months) after the injury, patients achieved a median adjusted Majeed score of 76 (range: 63 to 76).

CONCLUSIONS: Unstable pelvic injuries with sacroiliac joint dislocation without comminution can be stabilised with a single iliosacral screw in children. Comminuted pelvic fractures with unstable sacroiliac dislocation require stabilisation with lateral compression screws or plates. In case of residual pelvic instability after internal fixation, an additional external fixator or pelvic hammock should be applied to optimize the stability of fixation.