Pelvic fracture

Injuries to the pelvis range from low-energy stable fractures through to high-energy unstable injuries that are life threatening. Pelvic ring disruptions arise from an osseous or ligamentous injury, or a combination of both, and are usually encountered in the setting of high-energy trauma. These injuries represent one of the most challenging clinical problems in emergency medicine, and require urgent, multidisciplinary management for successful outcomes to be achieved. Because of the high energy required to sustain a pelvic ring disruption, patients usually present with multiple injuries. The injured pelvis reflects only a proportion of the destructive energy sustained by the patient, and provides a marker for injuries to other organ systems and additional skeletal disruption. These injuries must also be dealt with adequately in a timely manner to achieve optimal clinical outcomes.