An original technique for surgical stabilisation of traumatic flail chest.
The treatment of chest wall injuries with severe paradoxical movement remains controversial. Intermittent positive-pressure respiration may be appropriate, but in some, especially those requiring exploratory thoracotomy for a visceral lesion, surgical fixation is desirable. We present a simple method using two or three stainless Kirschner wires placed in the chest wall. Results in five cases have been good.
D005592:Fracture Fixation / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D012253:Rib Fractures / Q000601:surgery*