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Clinical Outcomes Following Operative Fixation of Flail Chest Injury

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Injuries to the Chest Wall

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Abstract

Rib fractures are a painful and common injury. In 2004, over 300,000 people in the United States were treated for rib fractures, according to the National Center for Health Statistics (Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS), Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/nisoverview.jsp, 2003). In 2003, 102,000 patients were admitted to US hospitals for rib fractures, accounting for 7 % of admissions (National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/about/major/ahcd/nhamcsds.htm, 2004). Rib fractures are also a common injury in trauma patients. A review of over 7,000 patients from the York Hospital Trauma Registry revealed that rib fractures were found in 10 % of all admitted trauma patients and that rib fractures were associated with severe injury leading to a 12 % mortality rate (Ziegler and Agarwal (J Trauma 37(6):975–979, 1994)). Rib fractures alone are therefore a common injury and can portend a poor clinical outcome. This chapter will describe the clinical outcomes following flail chest injury, with specific attention given to the differences currently reported between operative treatment and nonoperative treatment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Reno Orthopaedic Clinic, Reno, NV, USA

    Justin A. Walker M.D. & Peter L. Althausen M.D., M.B.A.

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  1. Justin A. Walker M.D.
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  2. Peter L. Althausen M.D., M.B.A.
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Correspondence to Justin A. Walker M.D. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Orthopedic Surgery, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Michael D. McKee

  2. Division of Orthopedic Surgery, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Emil H. Schemitsch

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© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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Walker, J.A., Althausen, P.L. (2015). Clinical Outcomes Following Operative Fixation of Flail Chest Injury. In: McKee, M., Schemitsch, E. (eds) Injuries to the Chest Wall. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-18624-5_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-18624-5_11

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-18623-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-18624-5

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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