Journal of the American College of Surgeons
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Prospective randomized controlled trial of operative rib fixation in traumatic flail chest.
Traumatic flail chest injury is a potentially life threatening condition traditionally treated with invasive mechanical ventilation to splint the chest wall. Longer-term sequelae of pain, deformity, and physical restriction are well described. This study investigated the impact of operative fixation in these patients. ⋯ Operative fixation of fractured ribs reduces ventilation requirement and intensive care stay in a cohort of multitrauma patients with severe flail chest injury.