A Modified Cannulated Cancellous Bone Impactor Is a Helpful Tool During Acetabular Fractures ORIF, a Technical Note

Abstract

T he general aim of fracture management is to obtain proper reduction and alignment (axial and rotational), followed by fixation, which should eventually lead to fracture union in an accepted position that helps the patient return to his/her preinjury level of activity and function.1 These aims could be more challenging when dealing with intra-articular fractures, where fracture reduction should be anatomic to avoid secondary osteoarthritis; this makes acetabular fractures to be one of the most challenging intraarticular fractures to treat owing to their complex anatomy, various injury patterns, and patient-related factors such as obese or muscular patients, which adds to the complexity of the surgery.2,3 To obtain an anatomic reduction of complex acetabular fractures, a lot of reduction assisting tools and clamps were introduced, such as the ball spike pusher, Farabeuf clamp, pointed reduction forceps, and offset clamps.4 Here, we describe a modification we performed on a standard cancellous bone impactor to be used more efficiently during open reduction and internal fixation of acetabular fractures.