Abstract

MEDEROS CURBELO, Orestes N et al. Use of the external fixative in the instability of the anterior thoraxic wall (sternal volet): A case report . Rev Cubana Cir [online]. 2005, vol.44, n.1, pp. 0-0. ISSN 1561-2945.

A patient with instability of the anterior thoracic wall and sternum previously treated with a device created by the authors in 1995 for the costal volet, is presented. The artificial external ribs of the device designed for subperiosteous cerclage act as a fixation element with satisfactory results. The case of a patient that due to a car accident suffers from lesions in the cranium, thorax, abdomen and limbs, among which cerebral contusion, liver lesion, femur fracture and instability of the anterior thoracic wall stand out, is reported. Maximum priority was given to the instability of the anterior thoracic wall, since it could have rapidly led to respiratory failure if the problem would have not been solved. The external stabilization was attained by an equipment that is utilized in our hospital and that is reusable and may be applied to any thoracic instability independently of its localization. The fixative is made of malleable duralumin plates that make possible its adaptability and introduce a way of treatment in the bilateral thoracic lesions with external instability, a complex situation in which it may be a useful instrument for treatment

Keywords : Thoracic instability; beating thorax; external fixative.

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