Safe Supra‐Acetabular Pin Insertion in Relation to Intraosseous Depth

In pelvic fractures, dysfunction of the pelvic ring is often stabilized with supra‐acetabular pin insertion. In existing literature, there are heterogeneous indications on proper pins selection and inclinations. Therefore, this study aimed to quantify the narrowing of safe pin corridors in the transverse and sagittal planes with increments of intraosseous screw depths. A computer algorithm created cross‐sections over three‐dimensional pelvic reconstructions at sagittal inclinations from 45° cranial to 45° caudal in 5° increments. Templates of screw depths spanning 60–120 mm in 15 mm increments were disposed in the transverse plane from 45° medial to 45° lateral. Each intraosseous screw depth and transverse angle were evaluated for intraosseous containment to evaluate ranges narrowing with increasing screw depths. The 60‐mm depth resulted in the largest sagittal range (60.9° ± 6.9°) and transverse range (27.5° ± 4.1°) at 30° caudal. Increasing depths by 15 mm resulted in ranges being significantly different from one another ( p  < 0.01). The sagittal plane of 20° cranial had the highest frequency of insertion for all depths, while transverse ranges were narrowed ( p  < 0.01). Bisecting angles were similar for sagittal planes 20° cranial to 30° caudal with an average of 27.9° ± 1.2° ( p  ≥ 0.115). In conclusion, while 60 mm depths can be inserted with the highest discretion, 15 mm increments in depth significantly reduce safe ranges. Screws depths above 90 mm have low frequencies of insertion, should be inserted more cranially and must be considered prone to breaching. © 2019 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 37:1790–1797, 2019