Presentation
Previous right-sided chest trauma needing surgery. Performed for chest pain on this admission.
Patient Data
Age: 75 years
Gender: Female
From the case:
Internal fixation of rib fractures
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Internal plate and screw fixation of 5 consecutive right sided ribs.
Underlying fractures are evident.
Case Discussion
Rib fractures are common, with the chest radiograph largely undertaken to assess for complications such as a pneumothorax.
Rarely rib fractures require surgical correction - flail chest or markedly displaced fractures being potential indications.
Internal fixation (ORIF) is on occasion performed with dramatic chest radiograph appearances.