Treatment of traumatic sternal fractures with titanium plate internal fixation: a retrospective study

BACKGROUND This study aim to evaluate surgical procedures for titanium plate internal fixation of sternal fractures with displacement or nonunion. METHODS From January 2010 to December 2014, 64 patients with sternal fractures were treated with titanium plate internal fixation in the thoracic surgery department of the Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital. Pain severity scale scores were analyzed preoperatively and postoperatively. All the patients had a 2-month follow-up for treatment evaluation. RESULTS The mean hospital length of stay was 16.89 days. Forty-five patients underwent surgery for combined injuries. A statistically significant difference (P < 0.05) was found between preoperative and postoperative pain severity scores (7.74 ± 0.89 vs. 3.80 ± 0.79, respectively). At follow-up, healing of the nonunion or fracture was confirmed in all the cases. CONCLUSION The rigid titanium plate application ensured a safe and easy management of traumatic sternal fractures and nonunion with a good prognosis as compared with other methods.