Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE, cilt.9, sa.6, ss.11510-11517, 2016 (SCI-Expanded)
Background: We wished to put forward the easy and rapid applicability of Nitinol memory rib plaques as well as their postoperative benefits in the cases with multiple costa fractures which lead to the occurrence of a flail chest and give rise to serious pain. Material and Methods: During the study period, at least three costa fractures and/or sternum fractures were detected in the Department of Thoracic Surgery, Bozok University between the period January 2013 and December 2015, and the medical files of 44 patients treated in the clinic were retrospectively reviewed. 15 of these patients (34.1%) received a costa fixation through the use of Nitinol memory plaques, whereas 2 of them (4.5%) had a sternum fixation and 27 of them (61.4%) had a conservative treatment. Results: 38 of the patients (86.4%) were male, whereas 6 of them (13.6%) were female, and the mean age was 57.38. While 13 of the cases (29.55%) had costa fractures on their right side and 20 of them (45.45%) had the same problem on their left side, 9 of them (20.45%) had bilateral costa fractures, 2 cases (4.55%) had isolated sternum fractures and 2 cases (4.55%) had the coexistence of sternum + costafractures. 14 of all the cases (31.81%) had the presence of a flail chest. The mean duration of operations was 29 minutes. The postoperative pain in the cases operated on was seen to be lower. While the mean hospitalization periods of the patients operated on was 6.47 +/- 2.98 days, the mean hospitalization periods of those not operated on was calculated as 5.19 +/- 2.02 days. In none of the patients operated on was any postoperative intensive care or mechanical ventilation required. Conclusions: We wished to emphasize the fact that the requirement for and the complications of a mechanical ventilator for the fractures in the cases with a heavier trauma score, those in need of a mechanical ventilation due to a flail chest, and also in the selected multiple fractured costa patients having problems in breathing since the pain level is rather high could be prevented thanks to the stabilization through a Nitinol memory plaque, which is reliable, easy and quick to apply.