This article outlines the Chest Wall Injury Society’s guidelines for the surgical stabilization of rib fractures, detailing the indications for surgery, contraindications, and optimal timing for intervention. It emphasizes the importance of addressing rib fractures to improve patient outcomes and reduce complications related to chest wall injury.
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Chest wall
August 21, 2025
August 7, 2025
This week on The Beat, CTSNet Editor-in-Chief Joel Dunning speaks with Dr. Mara Antonoff, Associate Professor of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery and Program Director for Education at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, and President of Women in Thoracic Surgery, about chest tubes.
July 30, 2025
This multi-institutional study of 81 patients with postoperative bronchopleural fistula (BPF) found a noncure rate of 46.9 percent and a mortality rate of 58 percent, with nearly half of the deaths directly related to BPF. Surgical intervention was performed in 85 percent of cases, with open-window thoracostomy being the most common procedure.
July 16, 2025
This article describes the outcomes of adding active chest tube clearance (ATC) to enhanced recovery after cardiac surgery (ERAS) program, comparing 684 patients who underwent ATC compared to 650 patients who did not.
July 3, 2025
This retrospective single-center study analyzed 143 patients who underwent chest wall resection and reconstruction from 2010–2023. Among these, 55.2 percent had lung cancer invading the chest wall, predominantly adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma.
June 26, 2025
Surgeons at Baylor St Luke’s Medical Center in Houston, Texas, successfully performed the first robotic heart transplant in the U.S. without opening the chest, using small abdominal incisions. This minimally invasive procedure reduced trauma, blood loss, and infection risk, allowing for quicker recovery.
June 5, 2025
This study investigated the long-term outcomes of hardware removal (HR) in patients who had previously undergone surgical fixation for blunt chest trauma, with a median of 11.5 rib fractures stabilized per patient. A retrospective review spanning 2017 to 2023 was performed, with follow-up assessments conducted approximately 28 months after HR.
May 29, 2025
This video demonstrates a successful radical resection of a chest wall chondrosarcoma in a 70-year-old patient.
May 22, 2025
This case report demonstrates the case of a 16-year-old male with no past medical history who initially presented for evaluation of xiphodynia. An incidental finding on a preoperative computed tomography scan revealed a 2.0 cm x 2.5 cm sternal foramen in the lower third of his sternum.
May 15, 2025
This systematic review evaluated bar displacement following pectus excavatum repair focusing on studies assessing risk factors, stabilization methods, and reoperation strategies. Thirteen studies spanning 23 years were included, revealing bar displacement rates ranging from 0.9 percent to 33.3 percent.