Surgical approaches for rib fracture fixation.

Operative management of thoracic injuries is an increasingly accepted technique, with multiple reports of improved patient outcomes as compared with nonoperative treatment. Despite the evolving support of rib fracture fixation, descriptions of surgical approaches and tactics remain limited. We present this information to allow surgeons to begin or improve treatment of these injuries. In addition, we present the initial treatment results of a series of 21 patients treated with the approaches described within.