Rib and Sternum Nonunions: Diagnosis and Treatment and Awareness of Other Potential Posttraumatic Pathology

As the operative management of acute, chest wall, skeletal injury escalates throughout the world, it has become commonplace for patients with posttraumatic conditions to present with clinical reconstructive challenges as well. In addition, it is becoming clear that rib nonunions are not rare, likely more than 5% of rib fractures. No subspecialty is better equipped to address such painful conditions than orthopaedic surgery. Likewise, there are a plethora of other posttraumatic problems that patients face, from intercostal neuralgia, pleural herniation, rib synostosis, and costal margin and sternal injuries that do not heal properly, which require treatment solutions. This emerging new field of surgery is optimized by an interdisciplinary approach, between general and orthopaedic trauma surgeons, and between thoracic, anesthesia, and rehabilitation specialists. This article emphasizes the workup and operative treatment of painful rib and sternal nonunions, in particular, and familiarizes the orthopaedist with other cold skeletal trauma in general. From the distinctive history and physical examination of the patient with a rib psuedoarthrosis to proper diagnostic studies, the surgeon is led through a principled approach to nonunion surgery, inclusive of autogenous graft harvest to provide both biologic and mechanical variables to bear in the successful treatment of this condition.