Bowel entrapment by pelvic fracture fragments: a case report and review of the literature.

A 13-year-old boy sustained an acetabular fracture which was complicated by entrapment of the small bowel. Five days after injury, the incarcerated bowel was freed from the fracture site, and primarily reanastamosed after excision of a 5-cm segment. The postoperative course was complicated by a prolonged fever of unknown origin which finally was attributed to hepatitis. Ten months after injury, the patient was ambulating with the aid of a cane. Only 5 comparable cases of mechanical entrapment of small bowel in pelvic fractures were found in the literature. In all 5, the diagnosis was difficult, and in 2, the patients died from this complication of pelvic fracture. The possibility of bowel entrapment should be considered in all instances of prolonged ileus associated with pelvic fracture.