Flail chest

[Julene]

Flail chest is multiple fractures in ≥ 3 adjacent ribs that result in a segment of the chest wall separating from the rest of the thoracic cage; it is a marker for injury to the underlying lung.
(See also Overview of Thoracic Trauma.)
A single rib may fracture in more than one place. If multiple (3 or more) adjacent ribs fracture in ≥ 2 places, the breaks in each rib result in a segment of chest wall that is not mechanically connected to the rest of the thoracic cage (flail segment). This flail segment moves paradoxically (ie, outward during expiration and inward during inspiration—see Figure: Flail chest).
Patients are at high risk for respiratory complications, mainly because the large amount of force required to cause a flail chest typically causes a significant underlying pulmonary contusion. In addition, the paradoxical motion of flail chest increases the work of breathing, and chest wall pain tends to limit deep inspiration and thus maximal ventilation.