The “gull sign” in acetabular fractures revisited – is the dome impacted or elevated?

The gull sign is an unreliable predictor for dome impaction in acetabular fractures for the following reasons: in the presence of the gull sign nearly half of the cases an elevated fragment only (not an impacted fragment) was noted on CT; despite an absence of the gull sign in nearly one-third of these cases dome impactions ("brick sign") were present on CT. Consequently, routine preoperative CT imaging is essential to accurately differentiate true dome impactions ("brick sign") from dome elevation, thereby guiding appropriate surgical decision-making between "disimpaction versus reduction" and in general between the "fix or replace" debate.