External stabilization of the thorax in complex treatment of children with severe chest injuries: Description of clinical cases

Aim. To describe a proposed method of treating children with a traumatic disorder of the thorax. Material and methods. Under the conditions of work in the Tyumen “Center of Medicine of Catastrophes”, doctors of all specialties of the Tyumen region interact with thoracic surgeons. Special attention is given to children with polytrauma. In the Tyumen region for the period 2016–2017, two travels to treat children with multiple floating fractures of the ribs on one side were made. The patients were treated by using an original method of external chest stabilization. We present the advantages of the method in the descriptions of the clinical cases. Results. The chest structure was stabilized by using a V-shaped model of the Cramer tire to increase the area of contact with the chest. The tire was fixed with Kapron thread No 5 by using a large cutting needle, which was wound under the ribs after marking the floating section of the chest. The ribs were stitched for stable areas along the edges and for an unstable fragment of the thorax. Later, the V-shaped model of the Cramer tire was applied and fixed by threads to the chest. This method is simple and acceptable in any hospital and allows early spontaneous breathing with no purulent-septic complications. Conclusions. This method of restoring the skeletal function of the thorax with the help of external fixation of the V-shaped model of the Cramer tire allows reliable minimally invasive stabilization of the chest wall. External stabilization of the thorax allows early transfer of the victims to independent breathing and shortens the duration of treatment in the intensive care unit. The availability and simplicity of the design makes it possible to perform this procedure everywhere. Video thoracoscopic support is needed only if there is a suspicion of a clotted hemothorax.