What is a flail chest?
It is a portion of free-floating chest wall and occurs when there are 2+ rib fractures in three adjacent ribs.
Why does recognition and reporting of a flail chest important?
Patients with flail chest are much more likely to require mechanical ventilation and develop respiratory failure than patients with other chest trauma.
There are fractures through the lateral curvatures of ribs 2 to 9 on the left. Moderate displacement of rib fractures 4 and 6 to 9. Fractures of the anterior curvatures of ribs 2 to 5 are present that are undisplaced; a left-sided flail segment is, therefore, present involving the ribs 2 to 5.
A moderately displaced left clavicular fracture is present.
Widespread extensive emphysematous changes are present throughout both lungs. There is confluent density seen within the posterior aspect of the left lower lobe adjacent to a rib fracture consistent with pulmonary haemorrhage and probable pulmonary laceration here.
Tiny bilateral pneumothoraces. There is a tiny left haemothorax.
Left L2 and L3 transverse process fractures.