Kaohsiung Municipal Siaogang Hospital’s Micro-Invasive Rib Fracture Team has once again achieved a major milestone! In 2025, the team was officially recognized by the Chest Wall Injury Society (CWIS) as Asia’s first CWIS-certified Collaborative Center. This honor not only acknowledges the hospital’s outstanding clinical accomplishments but also symbolizes that Taiwan’s chest wall trauma care has stepped onto the global stage.
The Chest Wall Injury Society is an international, multidisciplinary academic organization composed of thoracic surgeons, trauma surgeons, orthopedic specialists, and other medical professionals from around the world. Its core mission is to improve the quality of care and clinical outcomes for patients suffering from chest wall injuries such as rib fractures, flail chest, and thoracic trauma. CWIS drives progress through the establishment of standardized treatment guidelines, the organization of professional workshops, multicenter international studies, and the exchange of clinical and academic expertise.
The CWIS Collaborative Center designation is an international honor awarded to medical institutions that demonstrate innovation in clinical practice, interdisciplinary collaboration, strong research output, and active international engagement in chest wall injury management. Hospitals receiving this certification are recognized for meeting international standards of quality and outcomes, and for their capacity to collaborate with leading global centers in advancing clinical care, research, and education.
Siaogang Hospital’s team independently developed a super micro-invasive rib fracture fixation surgery, which requires only a 3–5 cm incision to stabilize up to five fractured ribs at once. This approach far surpasses the traditional 15-cm incision technique, redefining the concept of “minimally invasive” surgery. The advantages include smaller wounds, reduced pain and infection risk, improved cosmetic results, and significantly faster recovery times.
Who benefits from this procedure?
According to thoracic surgeon Dr. Tung-Lin Tsai, the surgery is particularly suitable for patients with flail chest or those suffering from more than three fractured ribs accompanied by severe pain or respiratory distress. It effectively improves breathing function, relieves pain, shortens hospitalization, and reduces complications.
This achievement is the result of close collaboration between Dr. Tsai (Thoracic Surgery) and Dr. Kang-Le Lu (Orthopedic Surgery), who jointly established the Integrated Chest and Rib Fracture Outpatient Clinic. There, both specialists conduct joint consultations to provide comprehensive evaluations and treatment plans. The team integrates resources from emergency medicine, radiology, anesthesia, nursing, rehabilitation, swallowing therapy, and occupational health to deliver standardized, high-quality care. Through this multidisciplinary model, patients’ average hospital stay has been reduced to just seven days, with surgical incisions minimized to under four centimeters, achieving excellent outcomes and high patient satisfaction.