Treatment for broken ribs

I'm a family doctor, and have only seen Xrays of the plate
and screw approach in textbooks. I've worked with cases from
the Cleveland Clinic, to UPMC Presby in Pittsburgh, and
never ran into anyone that ended up needing surgery.

"Bob Shanteau" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I have some questions about recovering from broken ribs,
where the breaks have separated.

In late February, I was on the Hellyer Velodrome in San
Jose, CA, when another rider fell in front of me during a
training session. I ran into

him

Quoted message said:

and went over the handlebars, landing on the right side of
my head and my right shoulder. I suffered a concussion and
broke my right scapula and 8 ribs on the right side. I
spent 7 days in the hospital, the last few with

a

Quoted message said:

tube inserted in my chest to drain fluid. Due to my
concussion, I don't remember the crash or the events
leading up to it. I am a 56 year old man and my bones are
more brittle and I heal more slowly than 30 years ago.

There was a thread a couple of years ago titled, "recovery
from a broken rib." That guy only cracked one rib, and he
healed in a couple of months.

I

Quoted message said:

am not so fortunate.

For me it has now been 12 weeks and my ribs have not
mended. I am still in enough pain that I cannot ride and
sitting and standing are difficult. An X-ray a couple of
weeks ago showed at least 3 ribs that were still

separated

Quoted message said:

(ribs 6, 7 and 8, IIRC). My orthopedic surgeon said that
the ribs may not ever form a union, in which case some
fibrous tissue will from between the ends. He said I have
3 choices:

1. Let the ribs heal as they may, probably ending in at
least one

non-union.

Quoted message said:

2. Have a specially trained physical therapist try to
realign the ribs so they will mend.

3. If we were in Germany, I would have surgery where the
ribs are aligned with plates and screws.

Has anyone here had experience with any of these 3
alternative treatments? What were the results?

Bob Shanteau said:

I have some questions about recovering from broken ribs,
where the breaks have separated.

In late February, I was on the Hellyer Velodrome in San
Jose, CA, when another rider fell in front of me during a
training session. I ran into him and went over the
handlebars, landing on the right side of my head and my
right shoulder. I suffered a concussion and broke my right
scapula and 8 ribs on the right side. I spent 7 days in the
hospital, the last few with a tube inserted in my chest to
drain fluid. Due to my concussion, I don't remember the
crash or the events leading up to it. I am a 56 year old
man and my bones are more brittle and I heal more slowly
than 30 years ago.

There was a thread a couple of years ago titled, "recovery
from a broken rib." That guy only cracked one rib, and he
healed in a couple of months. I am not so fortunate.

For me it has now been 12 weeks and my ribs have not
mended. I am still in enough pain that I cannot ride and
sitting and standing are difficult. An X-ray a couple of
weeks ago showed at least 3 ribs that were still separated
(ribs 6, 7 and 8, IIRC). My orthopedic surgeon said that
the ribs may not ever form a union, in which case some
fibrous tissue will from between the ends. He said I have
3 choices:

1. Let the ribs heal as they may, probably ending in at
least one non-union.

2. Have a specially trained physical therapist try to
realign the ribs so they will mend.

3. If we were in Germany, I would have surgery where the
ribs are aligned with plates and screws.

Has anyone here had experience with any of these 3
alternative treatments? What were the results?

Dear Bob,

While your post may provoke interesting tales of similar
mishaps, no surgeon would offer you an opinion without an
x-ray and an examination. Where each rib is broken would be
just the starting point.

You want someone who will treat you and all your specific
problems (a surgeon--or two or three), not well-meaning
folk like me who will tell you all about our truly
fascinating injuries.

There is, for example, at least a fourth treatment for a
broken rib that fails to heal, causes continuing pain,
and limits your movement. I hope that your troubles
aren't that bad.

Good luck,

Carl Fogel