Doctors are warning of the dangers of a chronic cough after treating a man who broke a rib from hacking so hard.
The patient, 54, had to have part of the bone removed and replaced with a metal rod because the broken rib healed incorrectly and was pressing up against a nerve in his chest.
The unnamed man, from Italy, was a heavy smoker who had been involved in an accident years prior that weakened his rib cage.
Several coughing fits in 2023 landed him in the ER until the pain became so unbearable he went in for surgery last September.
The man had broken his 8th left rib bone in half and the constant coughing prevented it from healing. Bone tissue was pressing against a nerve in his chest, causing excruciating pain
Chunks of bone tissue had formed into a congealed mass in between his broken bone. It was removed to relieve the pressure (shown above)
Scans showed he had broken the eighth rib on his left side, leaving a one-and-a-half inch gap in the middle of the bone.
It had failed to heal properly – in part due to the patient’s constant coughing – which meant chunks of bone tissue had formed into a congealed mass.
This mass of tissue was pressing against his intercostal nerves, which run along the ribs, chest, and stomach.
Surgeons made a small incision in his chest removed the extra bone formation, which released pressure from the nerve and would relieve the patient’s pain.
The team then inserted a thin, three-inch screw-in metal rod known as a splint to hold the broken rib together.
Within 24 hours of the operation, the patient was completely free of pain and remained symptom free six weeks later.
His tale was revealed in the American Journal of Case Reports by surgeons in Milan who operated on him.
Writing in the report, the doctors said: ‘A 54-year-old man presented with chronic cough-induced left chest wall pain.
‘…scan showed a nonunion of a fracture of the left posterior 8th rib. After medical management failure, we proposed a surgical approach with the aim to remove the tissue comprising the nonunion, release the nerve, and stabilize the bone stumps.’
They added: ‘The pain disappeared immediately after surgery. The patient was discharged in 24 hours.
‘At 6-week follow-up, he was still asymptomatic, and a new CT scan reconfirmed the correct splint position.
‘From the immediate postoperative evaluation until the last follow-up visit, he consistently reported full satisfaction.’
The team were relieved that the patient did not need painkillers at his follow-up because he had previously gotten addicted to prescribed opioids after a prior hospital visit.
It was discovered that the patient was suffering from a vitamin D deficiency, which can make bones weak, and lead to the bone disease osteoporosis, both of which raised his risk of bad fractures.
Doctors advise you see your doctor if you have a cough that lingers for weeks, especially one that brings up sputum or blood, disturbs your sleep, or affects school or work.
