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E
esound Asked September 2019

Does anyone know about sacral fractures due to osteoporosis and how they were treated? My 89 yr. old mom has 4!

Looking for info on how to deal with sacral fractures in my 89 yr old mom. Doctor says just bedrest and a walker. We need to hire help, but are afraid to. I can't stay here for much longer to help! Advice???


Did anyone use sacrioplasty???

dwilkrn Sep 2019
My mother had sacral fractures the same type. She was 84 and taking care of my terminally ill Dad when she called to tell me she could not walk! Bedrest, used diapers as she couldn't walk to bathroom. Spoke to several specialists, all advised against sacrioplasty. We had 24 hour caregivers in the home for 30 days (cost $15,000), and when she was able to move some, we had home PT come in and get her ambulatory again. We used a service called A Place for Mom which has helped us immensely with many issues. Maybe a skilled nursing facility would work for her.

cwillie Sep 2019
Sorry I have no first hand experience - sacrioplasty sounds like a good option, I found a simple YouTube video that might help you visualize it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLjM1fegqkA

(of course any course of action depends on her overall health and the level of pain she is experiencing)

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AlvaDeer Sep 2019
I am with your doctor in thinking that any surgical action with bones already suffering from osteoporosis is going to cause further complications and almost a crumbling spine. This has to be very painful for her; I am so sorry. I am assuming you have seen at least TWO orthopedic people. One just ortho and one surgical. You might be then left with a decision, but I doubt that even a surgical would recommend any surgery lightly. The anesthesia alone would be a daunting problem at this age, the healing as well. So very sorry you are both dealing with this. I used to work orthopedic but that was many many years ago, cardiac being where I worked the last 20 years of my career which is over now for 15 years. Times marches on and anything I remember is antique medicine at this point. Good luck. I hope you will update us when you come to any conclusions.

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