OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of Ganz clamp to stabilize and reduce pelvic dislocations in emergency situations, and to assess possible difficult and easy aspects of the method. METHOD: Ganz clamp was used in the emergency treatment of 31 patients with severe lesions of the pelvic ring (Tile C) associated to major hemodynamic instability. RESULTS: Among the patients, 27 (87.1%) presented a favorable evolution, with stabilization, reduction of dislocations, and compression of the posterior portion of the ring, and also hemodynamic stabilization, and 4 (12.9%) died. CONCLUSION: The Ganz clamp was found to be an effective tool in the emergency treatment of pelvic ring lesions because it has an uncomplicated conception, allowing for a fast placement, because it does not prevent nor make it difficult for abdominal procedures, and most of all because it allows for the stabilization of the pelvis, reduction of dislocations, and compression in the posterior region of the ring, where most bleeding occurs, to reduce or eliminate bleeding.
Sacroiliac joint; Pelvic bones; Hemodynamics; Hemorrhage; Emergencies
