Airway obstruction Patients found to have impending or active airway obstruction are often noted to have alteration of mental status or to exhibit stridorous breathing, dysphonia, tachypnea, indrawing, or accessory…
Fig. 14.1 Days on mechanical ventilation, ICU stay, and hospital stay for patients with flail chest injuries [8] Fig. 14.2 Overall outcomes for patients with flail chest injuries [8] Table…
Fig. 4.1 Chest stabilization by strapping (Used with permission, Jensen 1952 [3]) Fig. 4.2 Traction used for stabilization of flail chest injury in a patient with sternum fracture. Traction tongs…
Fig. 8.1 (a) AP chest radiograph in a 72-year-old male demonstrating a right-sided flail chest and multiple displaced right rib fractures. (b) 3D CT reconstruction in the same patient demonstrating…
Fig. 11.1 A 3D CT scan revealing multiple ipsilateral displaced rib fractures and a postoperative radiograph following open reduction and plate fixation. This fixation rapidly restored chest wall integrity and…
Fig. 5.1 Radiograph of flail chest with underlying lung contusion (indicated by arrow) Lung ultrasound: Many of the injuries resulting from thoracic trauma are better demarcated by ultrasonography than on…
Fig. 3.1 The normal mechanics of respiration. As the (intact) chest wall expands outward under the influence of the respiratory muscles (including the intercostal muscles), the diaphragm contracts and lowers,…
Fig. 16.1 Table showing levels of evidence (I–V) for a primary research question The failure to incorporate evidence, via EBM or otherwise, has led to the adoption of new technologies…
Fig. 13.1 Chest tube collecting system—contemporary chest tube collecting systems reproduce the traditional “three-bottle system”. The first compartment collects fluid drained from the pleural space. Air then passes to the…
Fig. 7.1 (a) A patient with a severe chest wall injury with a number of indications for surgery including severe deformity with a flail segment, inability to wean from a…
