General considerations, indications, and potential advantages of chest wall stabilization, rib fixation, and sternum osteosynthesis in selected patients after blunt trauma

The treatment of rib fractures associated with blunt chest wall trauma is still commonly conservative. However, conservative management can be associated with complications in the acute phase following the trauma, due to its duration or to its inefficacity (1,2). Most usual complications consisted of infections and prolonged respiratory failure, leading to extended hospitalization and high mortality rate.