Posterior wall acetabular fracture in a 13-year-old boy treated by open reduction and mini-plate internal fixation: long-term follow-up of 17 years.

BACKGROUND

Acetabular fractures are uncommon in children and adolescents, mainly because of predominant cartilaginous component and strong surrounding ligaments. Although acetabular fractures at this age can lead to significant disability, there is no consensus regarding management, which continues to be controversial. Particularly, long-term outcome after operative management has not been evaluated.

CASE PRESENTATION: We report a case of a 13-year-old boy skeletally immature who presented with an isolated acetabular fracture involving the posterior wall secondary to a traumatic hip dislocation. A Kocher-Langenbeck approach with a surgical luxation of the hip was used for reduction and mini-plate internal fixation of the fracture. Long-term (17-year) follow-up showed a good clinical outcome and a good congruence of the. The patient has bilateral beginning osteoarthritis due to a cam configuration of both hips

CONCLUSION

We describe a case of successful operative management of an acetabulum fracture in a skelettaly immature child with a long-term follow-up. Aggressive management of this rare type of fractures may lead to durable positive outcome.