Open Reduction Internal Fixation of Rib Fractures: a Biomechanical Comparison Between the RibLoc U Plus^® System and Anterior Plate in Rib Implants

Objectives In this study, we assessed the bending strength of two surgical repairs of rib fracture using RibLoc ® U Plus system made by Acute Innovations and the anterior plate by Synthes. Methods After a rib fracture was created in seven pairs of cadaveric rib specimens, one side was repaired with the anterior plate and the other side repaired with the RibLoc U Plus ® plate. Each of the rib is loaded using a custom device over 360,000 bending cycles to simulate in vivo fatiguing related to respiration. Upon completion of the cyclic loading, the specimens were compressively loaded to failure and the failure bending moment was determined. Results The ribs repaired with the RibLoc U Plus ® system showed 79% higher failure bending moment than that of the anterior plate, with a p value of 0.033. The ribs repaired with RibLoc U Plus ® showed a trend of less stiffness reduction over the 360,000 loading cycles. Conclusion The biomechanical study showed that the RibLoc U Plus ® system is stronger in the bending moment loading of repaired ribs, possibly due to the U-shape structure supporting both the inner and outer cortices of a repaired rib.