Investigation of fixation of the disrupted pubic symphysis using multiple prosthetics in cadaveric models

This thesis presents the results from a research project involved with the development of new prosthetics used to stabilize disrupted pubic symphysis. This work has been performed and documented to set the foundation for future developments in the area. The focus of the research was on developing a method for testing the human cadaveric pelvis under static conditions, which includes the design and manufacturing of a test setup, assembling of precision measurement tools, and a data acquisition system.

The initial phase of the project dealt with the analysis of the intact pelvis and a commonly used prosthetic. The static testing of the intact and stabilized pelves are then compared to published results, which tested for the displacement at a load of 300 N. The second phase of the project dealt with the testing of a newly developed prosthetic device used for stabilization. The mean compliance was determined for all fixation devices as well as the intact symphysis in order to determine whether the locking plate was able to limit the motion per force better than the compression plate. The displacement data and the compliance coefficient data provided evidence that the locking plate assembly is more apt to limit motion in the pubic symphysis.

The compliance coefficients were compared using the cadaver information. The weight of a specimen played a role in the compliance coefficient. The heavier a specimen was, the lower the compliance coefficient for the inferior pubic symphysis. There was a gender based difference in the compliance ratios of the intact pubic symphysis. The male pelves had a mean inferior compliance of -.5308 microns/N, where the female pelvis was -.0921 microns/N. The sex based difference was not statistically significant but shows a direction for future research.