Repair of symptomatic non-union rib fractures: outcomes from a contemporary thoracic surgical series

Results Eight patients (6 men, 2 women) underwent non-union rib stabilization of 1 to 4 ribs during the study period. Median age was 56 years (range, 46-67 years). Mean BMI was 31.8 and median interval from index injury to rib fracture surgical repair was 14.5 months (range, 4-24 months). 75% of this cohort used tobacco chronically within the 3 years preceding repair. One patient underwent stabilization with ORIF alone and the remaining 7 patients underwent ORIF plus autologous bone grafting. There was no operative mortality. Median length of stay was 3.5 days (range, 1-7 days). Complications included 2 surgical site infections treated with surgery and 1 patient with pneumonia requiring antibiotics. At a mean follow up of 9.8 months (range 1-27), all patients reported symptomatic improvement. Radiographic healing was present in 100%.