Pelvic  fractures account for approximately 1 to 3 per cent  of  all skeletal fractures and  are  the  reason for  approximately  2  per   cent   of  orthopaedic admission. Pelvic fractures are reportedly the third most common cause of death in motor–vehicle accidents, ranking behind only injuries to the central nervous system and those to the chest. Death early (days or weeks) after the injury is generally due to hemorrhagic shock, failure of multiple organ systems, or sepsis.  The rate of morbidity is also high in patients who sustain these injuries, with most having associated skeletal, head, genitourinary, thoracic, or abdominal injuries.

Aims and objectives

This study aims to assess the outcome of unstable pelvic fracture in conservatively and operatively treated patients.

Material and method

This was a perspective study carried out on 30 patients at Darbhanga Medical College, Leheriasarai between January 2015 to June 2016 to compare the clinical and radiological outcome of patients with unstable pelvic fracture in conservatively and operatively   treated patients. Patients treated for unstable pelvic fracture using operative and conservative means were called for follow up at the duration of 6 weeks and 6 months and studied with respect to clinical examination and radiological findings. Patients were recruited according to TILE classification system.

Summary and Conclusion

In our study 83.3% of the patients treated operatively had good to excellent outcome with significant relief of pain and gait disturbance whereas only 16.6% of the patients treated conservatively showed good to excellent outcome. The clinical outcome correlated well with the radiological findings.Outcome was better in patients with TILE Type B fracture than in patients with TILE Type C fracture. Only one patient had a post operative wound infection and sciatic nerve palsy. Based on this study we recommend operative treatment for all patients with unstable pelvic fracture unless contraindicated due to the reasons mentioned in the text.