Treatment of flail chest injuries with a piston respirator

A series of seventeen patients with flail chest injuries, in which the piston respirator was utilized, have been compared with a similar series of sixteen patients in whom this respirator was not used. The comparison shows that “wet lung syndrome,” a major cause of death, can be prevented or reversed by the use of the piston respirator, with a significant reduction in mortality.These findings indicate that piston respirator therapy should be instituted immediately on all major flail chest injuries.