What are the complications of an acetabular fracture?

What are the complications of an acetabular fracture?

An acetabular fracture can cause difficult complications. These include:

• Posttraumatic arthritis: Cartilage covers your acetabulum bone. When you injure your acetabulum, you also injure the cartilage around it. When your cartilage becomes uneven, it can lead to wear and tear in the joint. This can cause arthritis.
• Avascular necrosis or osteonecrosis: Acetabular fractures can interrupt the blood supply to your acetabulum bone. Without the correct blood supply, your bone cells die. This can make your bone collapse.
• Infection: Infections can occur around the site of your incision or deep within your wound. Deep infections usually require surgery to clean the wound.
• Blood clots: Since you won’t be able to walk right away after surgery, the normal amount of blood flow in your legs will lessen. This increases your chance of blood clots.
• Sciatic nerve injury: Your sciatic nerve passes near the back of your hip socket. Your fracture or the surgery to repair it can cause injury to your sciatic nerve. This injury is called “foot drop,” a condition where you can’t lift your ankle or toes off the floor while walking.
• Heterotopic ossification: This is a condition where bone grows in the muscles, tendons and ligaments around your hip socket.