To cite: Shi HH, Esquivel M, Staudenmayer KL, et al. Trauma Surg Acute Care Open Published Online First: [please include Day Month Year] doi:10.1136/tsaco2016-000074 ABSTRACT Background Patients older than 65 years have 2–5 times higher mortality if they sustain ≥2 rib fractures compared to younger adults. As a result, our level I trauma center guidelines suggest that older adults with rib frac...

Intercostal herniation is very rarely and sporadically reported in the literature. Intercostal hernia can occur following blunt trauma and may be associated with rib fractures. We present a case of a patient who presented with rib fractures, diaphragmatic rupture, and intrathoracic herniation of abdominal contents with subsequent herniation of both lung and abdominal contents through an interco...

Although pulmonary disability is usually minimal following total sternectomy, the potential for remote complications exists. We present a case of severe respiratory failure resulting from simple rib fractures occurring two years after sternectomy for sternal osteomyelitis. Respiratory failure resulted from flail chest due to the combination of acute rib fracture and the lack of anterior fixatio...

PURPOSE Accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) with the MammoSite breast brachytherapy (MBB) system is being investigated as an alternative to whole breast radiation in breast conservation therapy (BCT) at multiple centers worldwide. The newness of MBB means a complete understanding of long-term toxicity, particularly involving the chest wall, has yet to be completely articulated. We rep...

The operative indications for rib fracture repair have been a matter of debate. However, several reports have suggested that flail chest, pain on respiration, and chest deformity/defect are potential conditions for rib fracture repair. We describe our experience of rib fixation in a patient with severe chest deformity due to multiple rib fractures. A 70-year-old woman was admitted with right-si...

Despite biliary drainage, she had significant cholestasis, ascites, malnutrition, and transient melena. Subsequently she was evaluated for a liver transplantation. A chest X-ray and an abdominal CT scan were obtained with an incidental finding of healing right sixth and seventh lateral rib fractures with callus formation and healing left seventh lateral rib fracture with callus formation (Figur...

OBJECTIVE A rib fracture secondary to blunt thoracic trauma is an important indicator of the severity of the trauma. In the present study we explored the morbidity and mortality rates and the management following rib fractures. METHODS Between May 1999 and May 2001, 1417 cases who presented to our clinic for thoracic trauma were reviewed retrospectively. Five hundred and forty-eight (38.7%) o...

BACKGROUND In infants and children with fractures from an unclear cause, osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is often included as a potential etiology. In infants and children with OI there exists a gap in the published literature regarding the fracture pattern seen at the time of diagnosis. As an additional aid to the diagnosis of OI, we sought to characterize the fracture patterns in infants and chi...

To cite: Witt CE, Bulger EM. Trauma Surg Acute Care Open Published Online First: [please include Day Month Year] doi:10.1136/tsaco-2016000064 ABSTRACT Rib fractures are common among patients sustaining blunt trauma, and are markers of severe bodily and solid organ injury. They are associated with high morbidity and mortality, including multiple pulmonary complications, and can lead to chronic p...