Chapter 107 - Rib Cage Fractures and Flail Chest

Question 1

Flail Chest carries a mortality of up to:

Answer 1

15%

Question 2

what ribs are most commonly fractured?

Answer 2

7th-10th

Question 3

flail chest

Answer 3

three or more adjacent ribs are each fractured at two placed creating a free floating segment containing the segmental pieces and the soft tissue between them
paradoxical motion - ie sucks in when the rest of the rib cage is expanding during an inhalation

Question 4

outcomes of surgically treated flail chest and rib fractures

Answer 4

1. NO mortality benefit
2. decreased rates of pneumonia, chest deformity, tracheostomy, duration of mechanical ventilation, length of ICU stay, length os hospital stay, treatment costs and overall health-related outcomes

Question 5

neurovascular structures at risk with rib fixation

Answer 5

1. long thoracic n and artery (lateral border of the serratus)
2. thoracodorsal nerve and artery (undersurface of the latissimus)