[Early Sternum Fixation with a Locking Plate for Traumatic Sternal Fracture].

ABSTRACT

An 86-year-old man fell from a farm trolley and presented with chest bruising. Chest computed tomography showed a hemopneumothorax, multiple right rib fractures, and a sternal fracture at the sternal angle. Although he was treated with a chest tube for drainage and external fixation, a flail chest and severe pain continued. We performed a locked plate fixation of the sternal fracture on the 6th day of hospitalization. The postoperative course was favorable and the patient's flail chest improved. In cases of fracture of the sternum, minimally invasive locked plate sternal fixation may lead to early recovery.