Impact of Time Interval Between Trauma and Operation on Clinical Outcome in Patients With Delayed Rib Fixation (Nonunion)

Inclusion Criteria: * Patients who signed the study specific consent form * Patients aged ≥18 years at the time of informed consent * Patients who provided written informed consent in accordance with ICH-GCP regulations prior to participating any protocol-specific follow-up * Patients with at least one rib fracture caused by trauma (traffic accident, falls), surgery (cardiac, thoracic, lung transplantation), sports, cough, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation Exclusion Criteria: * Patients who were treated conservatively * Patients who underwent rib fixation till 3 weeks after trauma * Patients who underwent SSRF prior to SSRFN * Patients who are unable to follow the procedures of the study, e. g. have insufficient knowledge of German or French languages, psychological disorders, dementia etc. * Patients with a pathological rib fracture(s) due to malignancy or radiation * Participation in any interventional study in our department that might influence any of the outcome parameters * Patients who underwent an initial surgery of rib fracture prior to development of a rib fracture nonunion