THE STRENGTH OF ILIOSACRAL LAG SCREWS AND TRANSILIAC BARS IN THE FIXATION OF VERTICALLY UNSTABLE PELVIC INJURIES WITH SACRAL FRACTURES

This study compares the relative strengths of iliosacral lag screws an d transiliac bars in the fixation of vertically unstable pelvic injuri es with sacral fractures. A vertical sacral fracture was artificially induced by vertical loading in eight pelvises from cadavers, which wer e then fixed with two 6.5 mm iliosacral lag screws or two 6.4 mm trans iliac bars. The pelvises were then loaded again to failure. The mean s trength of iliosacral lag screw fixation was 819 newtons and for trans iliac bars it was 1066 newtons, but the study was too small for the di fference to be judged as statistically significant. Various advantages and disadvantages of each method of fixation are discussed. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.