Safety and effectiveness of surgical fixation versus non-surgical methods for the treatment of flail chest in adult populations: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Our results suggest that surgical intervention reduces the need for tracheostomy, reduces the time spent in the intensive care unit following a traumatic flail chest injury and could reduce the risk of acquiring pneumonia after such an event. There is a need for further well-designed studies with sufficient sample sizes to confirm the results of this study and also detect other possible effects of surgical intervention in the treatment of traumatic flail chest in adults.