Application of Titanium plate internal fixation through CT three dimensional reconstruction and ultrasound in the treatment of rib fracture

Abstract

Objective To investigate the application of Titanium plate internal fixation through CT three dimensional reconstruction and ultrasound in the treatment of rib fracture. Methods The clinical data of 38 patients with rib fracture who underwent Titanium plate internal fixation from January 2017 to June 2018 were collected and retrospectively analyzed. 19 were performed CT three dimensional reconstruction and ultrasound to fix position and make precise incision. Small incisions were made in the each area(generally, 2-4 adjacent fracture sites requiring surgical treatment were selected as 1 area), different area requiring different muscle sparing techniques.The other 19 patients used traditional posterolateral incision to fix Titanium plate . Lengths of the surgical incision, time of determining the location and to fixing rib fracture in each area, whether or not to place drainage tubes on the chest wall during the operation, and the postoperative pain score were compared between the two groups. Results All operations were successfully completed, with recovered bony thorax and no paradoxical respiration occurred. After 3 months of following up, chest X-Ray film showed bone healing, firm internal fixation, and no serious complication occurred in each case.Even with same fixation material, compared with the traditional method group, in the experimental group, the length of surgical incision was smaller(P<0.01), the time to determine the location and to fix rib fracture was shorter, the postoperative pain score was much less(P<0.01), and there was no need to place drainage tubes on the chest wall during the operation(P<0.01). Conclusions The treatment of rib fracture with Titanium plate through the pre-fixed position by CT three dimensional reconstruction and ultrasound can shorten the length of incision and operation time, reduce the pain with less invasive and muscle-sparing, and having no need to place drainage tube under muscle, which might be a good choice to the treatment of rib fracture. Key words: Rib fracture; CT three dimensional reconstruction; Ultrasound; Titanium plate internal fixation