Chest Wall Injury

Isolated rib fractures are common injuries that are treated nonoperatively. However, in the setting of multiple rib fractures, there may be chest wall instability or a flail chest.

Demonstrated in this video are the anterolateral and posterior paramedian approaches for fixation of rib fractures, which are a component of flail chest injuries.

According to results presented at the Orthopaedic Trauma Association Annual Meeting, there is no difference in general health outcomes at 1 year between patients treated operatively vs. nonoperatively for unstable chest wall injuries.