Research progress in minimally invasive surgery for multiple rib fractures / 中华创伤杂志

ABSTRACT

Rib fracture is the most common chest trauma, accounting for almost 10% of all trauma patients. Non-surgical treatment of the fractures without significant displacement can achieve good results. Surgical treatment is often needed for multiple rib fractures, especially flail chest, which can induce severe pain, respiratory and circulatory abnormalities, accompanied by severe lung contusion and laceration, hemopneumothorax and blunt heart injury. Open reduction and internal fixation of rib fracture often involves multiple ribs. Traditional rib fracture surgery requires a large incision to achieve satisfactory exposure effect, which causes damages to the chest wall muscle, blood vessels and nerve damages, significantly increasing postoperative incision infection and dysfunctions in the upper limb, shoulder, back and long-term chest numbness and pain and seriously affecting the quality of patients' daily life. Therefore, it is gradually abandoned by surgeons. Experts have explored various minimally invasive surgical methods for the treatment of multiple rib fractures. The authors review the research progress of minimally invasive technology in the treatment of multiple rib fractures, in order to provide better help for clinical treatment.