Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Surgical repair of complex chest wall fractures and cartilage tears
By Spering C et al.·2026·Department of Trauma Surgery, Germany·View original on Europe PMC →
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Original publication title: Surgical management of complex non-union in chest wall instability: focus on posterior rib fractures, parasternal cartilage rupture, and costal margin injury.
Plain-English summary
This study looked at two patients who had serious issues with their chest walls after injuries. The first was a 62-year-old man who had broken ribs and a tear in the cartilage of his rib cage, which caused a hernia. He had surgery to fix the ribs and the cartilage, using special techniques to avoid damaging nerves. The second patient was a 25-year-old man who had a hidden tear in his rib cartilage and was treated with a different surgical method that involved using a bone graft. Both cases showed that advanced imaging is important for diagnosing these injuries, and that modern surgical techniques can help relieve pain and allow patients to move more easily afterward.
Abstract
Non-union of the chest wall is an underrecognized but functionally significant complication of thoracic trauma, particularly when involving posterior ribs, parasternal cartilage, and the costal margin. Complex instability patterns can result in persistent pain, mechanical dysfunction, and impaired respiration. We describe two patients with symptomatic chest wall non-union. Case 1 was a 62-year-old man with posterior non-union of the seventh and eighth ribs and a secondary costal margin rupture with intercostal hernia. He underwent combined posterior rib plating and costal margin reconstruction, nerve-sparing fibre-tape sutures, and double-layer mesh. Case 2 was a 25-year-old man with a radiographically occult rupture and pseudarthrosis of the third parasternal costal cartilage. He was treated with trans-costosternal osteosynthesis and local bone grafting. These cases illustrate that dynamic and multimodal imaging are often required to diagnose non-unions, and that contemporary plating and mesh techniques can restore stability, relieve pain, and permit early mobilization.
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Search related cases →Original publication on Europe PMC: https://europepmc.org/article/MED/41913920