• What is Trauma?
• The Hospital Environment
• Diagnosis and Treatment
  • Radiology Investigations
  • External Fixators
  • Injuries to Chest and Abdomen
  • Managing chest wall injuries
  • Injuries to Limbs
  • Injuries to the Head
  • Injuries to the Spine
  • Neck (Cervical Spine) fracture
  • Older people and traumatic injury
  • Injuries to the pelvis
    • Injuries to the Pelvis
    • Surgery for Pelvic Fractures
    • Related injuries and complications
    • After a pelvic operation
    • Recovery exercises for pelvic injury
    • Going home after pelvic injury
• Symptoms and Difficulties After Trauma
• Life After Trauma
• Survivor Stories
• Injured Children
• Useful Organisations

Surgery for pelvic fractures

The decision whether to operate on your fracture is made on a number of factors, including:

• the stability
• how far the fracture has moved
• whether there are any other injuries present.

When you injure your pelvis occasionally the structures (inside your body) that it protects may also be damaged. Click here for more information on related injuries and complications.

Sometimes it is necessary to take you to the operating theatre and test the stability of your pelvis using x-rays before a decision whether to operate can be made. You may also have x-rays and maybe a scan (CT scan) so that the surgeon can decide the best way to treat your pelvic injury.

If you require surgery, this can be done in several ways, the exact surgical plan should be discussed with you before you are asked to consent (agree) to surgery.

Surgery may include operations:

• at the front of the pelvis
• at the back of the pelvis
• at both the front and back

or a fixator may be placed at the front of the pelvis but on the outside.

The two most common methods of treating a pelvic injury are:

1. External Fixator: This is a metal frame, which is attached to the front of the pelvis on the outside of your body. This is to correct the position of the bones and prevent movement of the injury. This is often put on during the early stages of treatment. You can go home with this on and return later for it to be removed.
2. Internal Plates and Screws: These go directly against the bone to correct the position and prevent movement.

After surgery, how much weight you are allowed to put through each leg will depend on your fracture and how it is fixed – this is different for every patient and will be discussed with you at length. If you are not allowed to put any weight on your leg you will be provided with a frame or crutches to help you move about.

Your operation normally takes between two and three hours. However, this can take longer if your operation is complicated. Most of these operations require a general anaesthetic. For this you will be sedated (put to sleep) and unaware of what is happening during the operation.

Depending on how complicated your surgery is you may spend some time in intensive care or the high dependency unit after your operation. You may also just spend a few hours in the recovery unit while you recover from the anaesthetic before heading up to the ward. Click here for information about what to expect after your operation.