BRANDON, Fla. — HCA Florida Brandon Hospital has a new way to treat patients suffering from severe, radiating rib pain.
Dr. Bryan Steinberg is a thoracic surgeon at the hospital.
He said he recently performed Tampa Bay's first procedure using a biodegradable plate to treat chronic rib pain.
"A new technique has been developed which I've been able to bring here to Tampa, which I'm pretty excited about," he said.
WATCH: HCA Florida Brandon Hospital performs Tampa Bay's first slipped rib procedure using biodegradable plate
He pulled up a CT scan to point out where the plate is located in a patient who underwent surgery for slipped rib syndrome.
The condition happens when the lower ribs partially dislocate, often after trauma.
"A lot of times, people had motor vehicle accidents, falls, injuries from sports, and they’re walking around with chronic pain," said Dr. Steinberg.
Dr. Steinberg says the syndrome can cause sharp chest or upper abdominal pain.
"What you take for granted just breathing normally, taking a deep breath, suddenly every breath, you have sharp, stabbing pain, and the only thing you want to do is not breathe," he said.
Dr. Steinberg said patients may be misdiagnosed because symptoms may mimic other issues, like gallbladder or heart problems.
"It can be gallbladder, you can think it's heart, but most patients realize it's not that problem because they've usually been tested, all of that is normal. They don’t have an inflamed gallbladder. They don’t have a heart problem. They still have the chronic pain; it can be very debilitating," he said.
The procedure with a chest wall stabilization plate treats the severe pain.
The plate is made of a biodegradable material and eventually integrates into the body during the healing process.
"With this new approach, we removed the affected cartilaginous portions of ribs eight and nine and used them to create protective bumpers between the ribs to prevent nerve irritation,” Dr. Steinberg explained. “A biodegradable stabilization plate was then positioned to support the ribs. The plate gradually integrates into the body during the natural healing process, providing stability while reducing long-term potential complications.”
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