The journal of trauma and acute care surgery
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J Trauma Acute Care Surg · Dec 2021
Pediatric surgical rib fixation: A collected case series of a rare entity.
Rib fractures are uncommon in children and are markers of extreme traumatic force from high-energy or nonaccidental etiology. Traditional care includes nonoperative management, with analgesia, ventilator support, and pulmonary physiotherapy. Surgical stabilization of rib fractures (SSRFs) has been associated with improved outcomes in adults. In children, SSRF is performed and its role remains unclear, with data only available from case reports. We created a collected case series of published pediatric SSRF cases, with the aim to provide a descriptive summary of the existing data. ⋯ Collected case series, level V.