Surgical management of multiple rib fractures/flail chest.

Rib fractures in the setting of trauma carries a high morbidity and mortality. Forty-three percent of patients presenting with trauma will have rib fractures. Fifty-five percent of patients, greater than 60 years of age, who die following chest trauma, have isolated rib fractures.

Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery in trauma: pros and cons.

Thoracic injuries account for 60% of all trauma presentations. These patients often have extra-thoracic injuries adding to the complexity of their management. Morbidity and the associated mortality are significantly increased in the elderly.

Bilateral pneumothoraces in a patient with laryngeal carcinoma following tracheostomy for stridor.

A pneumothorax following a tracheostomy is a known but rare complication. Bilateral pneumothoraces are rarer still and very few are described in the literature. We present a case of bilateral pneumothoraces following an emergency tracheostomy in a female patient with known laryngeal carcinoma.