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Aetiology

Authoring team

The causes of a flail segment include:

  • trauma to the lateral chest wall:
    • a kick from a horse may yield a flail segment 15 cm in diameter

  • trauma to the front of the chest:
    • a car crash may drive the steering wheel into the chest
    • the ribs on either side of the sternum may be fractures
    • this may result in a large flail segment overlying the mediastinum

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