BACKGROUND Multiple rib fractures and unstable thoracic cage injuries are common in blunt trauma. Surgical management of rib fractures has received increasing attention in recent years and the aim of this 1-year, prospective study was to assess the long-term effects of surgery. METHODS Fifty-four trauma patients with median Injury Severity Score 20 (9-66) and median New Injury Severity Score ...

BACKGROUND Multiple rib fractures cause significant pain and potential for chest wall instability. Despite an emerging trend of surgical management of flail chest injuries, there are no studies examining the effect of rib fracture fixation on respiratory function. OBJECTIVES Using a novel full thorax human cadaveric breathing model, we sought to explore the effect of flail chest injury and su...

Blunt chest trauma is associated with a high risk of morbidity and mortality. Complications in blunt chest trauma develop secondary to rib fractures as a consequence of pain and inadequate ventilation. This literature review aimed to examine clinical interventions in rib fractures and their impact on patient and hospital outcomes. A systematic search strategy, using a structured clinical questi...

OBJECTIVE To describe the clinical characteristics and risk factors of patients with chest trauma, and to evaluate their correlation with the development of complications. METHODS Descriptive, prospective and analytical study of a patient cohort with chest trauma who underwent follow-up for a period of 30 days. Excluded from the study were those patients with moderate to severe traumatic brai...

Neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome (nTOS) resulting from an isolated first rib fracture is extremely infrequent. We report a case of performance limiting nTOS in a college athlete who was initially evaluated and treated for upper extremity ligamentous injury with only transient improvement. Subsequent noninvasive studies were consistent with TOS physiology and MRA showed a large hypertrophic c...

A second defining difference is the absence of pain and discomfort in metabolic fractures. Traumatic fractures, in contrast, are almost always extremely painful. This is easily explained. It is well known that bone has no pain fibers, while surrounding connective tissues are abundantly supplied with pain fibers. In metabolic fractures, which can take place with ordinary infant handling, surroun...

Displaced rib fractures as the result of blunt chest trauma impairs chest wall mechanics, causes severe pain, and results in prolonged mechanical ventilation. Rib fixation plates have been developed and manufactured for use in adult patients with improved outcomes over expectant management. The authors report the first case of rib fixation using titanium plates in a child after sustaining signi...