Case Report

RARE S4 FRACTURE WITH INTERESTING INJURY MECHANISM

  • Ömer ERŞEN
  • Burak BİLEKLİ
  • Serkan BİLGİÇ
  • Nuray CAN
  • Erbil OĞUZ

Received Date: 02.01.2012 Accepted Date: 20.02.2012 J Turk Spinal Surg 2012;23(2):135-138

Sacral fractures due to direct trauma are very rare. Sacral fractures usually occur as a result of high energy trauma, and are accompanied by pelvic fractures in 40–50% of cases. With conventional radiological techniques, sacrum fractures can be overlooked due to intestinal gas, the shadow of the bladder or the shape of the sacrum itself. It needs to be kept in mind that 35% of sacral fractures can be overlooked in X-rays. In the presence of clinical suspicion, computerized tomography is needed for a diagnosis.

We report here the diagnosis by computerized tomography of a sacrum fracture of a 20-year-old man, who suffered from an S4 fracture with a rare mechanism of injury, and received conservative treatment.

Keywords: Sacral fracture, direct trauma, diagnosis, treatment