Abstract： Objective To investigate the clinical effects of internal fixation of rib fractures on flail chest.Methods The curative effects and complications were compared between patients who underwent non-internal fixation of rib fractures from July 2007 to July 2008(group A,n=73) and patients who underwent minimally invasive internal fixation of rib fractures from August 2008 to August 2010(group B,n=70).Results Compared with group A,the number of patients requiring ventilatory support,the length of hospital stay,chest pain,analgesic consumption,the incidence of pulmonary atelectasis significantly increased in group B(P<0.05 or P<0.01).Conclusion Internal fixation of rib fractures is superior to non-internal fixation and has high clinical value for flail chest.
2011, Vol. 53 
