How do you treat a flail chest?

Respiratory therapy: Flail chest is severe disruption of the chest wall. To provide enoughe oxygen, the patient must receive respiratory therapy. This includes deep breathing, coughing, chest pt, and pain control.

Flail chest tx: Flail segments reference a patch of ribs that are broken in two places each; the disconnected or flail segment can and does move opposite to the rest of the chest wall. Flail segments occur with significant trauma to the chest wall and are often associated with additional chest and lung injuries that are life threatening such as contusions and hemothorax, and pneumothorax.

Surgery: Evidence is mounting that fixing the ribs broken in a flail chest helps significantly. Pulmonary support is also key.