[Intraabdominal organ injury due to blunt chest trauma--report of two cases]

[Rare complication of a dislocated rib fracture. Unusual clinical course following a motorcycle spill]

Dislocated rib fractures as a result of traffic accidents can be associated with various injuries of thoracic and abdominal organs. Especial attention should be paid to rare and difficult to determine lesions of a hollow abdominal viscus, which can, if not diagnosed early enough, lead to septic shock with a considerably diminished probability of survival. The following case is of a 51-year-old man who suffered a blunt chest injury with dislocated rib fracture, which caused a gastric perforation that had not been primarily detected. The diagnostic approach with its challenges for treating physicians and alternatives to the standard procedure in the case of dislocated fractures of lower ribs is analyzed here.