Q: My sister recently had an accident and the CT scan of her left leg shows: linear undisplaced crack involving the roof, anterior column, anterior and posterior wall of the left acetabulum. What exactly does the report tell, how many days will it take for her to walk again and is there is any other treatment to recover quickly?

A:Fractures of the posterior wall of the acetabulum are the most common type of acetabular fracture, accounting for approximately 25% of all acetabular fractures. In general, posterior wall fractures are amenable to nonsurgical treatment if the remaining, intact part of the acetabulum is large enough to maintain hip joint stability and congruity; however, this situation is often difficult to determine. Clinical outcome has been shown to be directly related to the accuracy of reduction, but accurate repositioning of all of the small posterior wall fragments is frequently a challenging task. Depending on the extent of damage to the cartilage in the joint and the degree of instability in the hip, surgery may be required. Surgery is used to remove bone debris from the joint, restore stability to the hip and align the surface of the cartilage so the ball is held tightly within the socket of the joint. Surgery is most often performed in younger patients. For older patients, even if the alignment of the joint is not perfect, fractures may be allowed to heal on their own, especially if the ball of the joint is still in the socket and relatively stable After injury or surgery, patients must not put weight on the affected leg for up to three months. If a patient walks on the affected leg too soon, it risks displacing the joint again. Rehabilitation is required after surgery or after nonsurgical treatment. It seems that your sister has completely undisplaced fracture of the acetabulum. If that is the case then it can be treated non-operatively under careful guidance of a orthopaedic surgeon who can follow up on her frequently.