September 30—BRIDGEPORT — For more than 10 years, Dr. Adam J. Hansen has seen many people live for years in pain.
A thoracic surgeon at the WVU Medicine Heart & Vascular Institute in Bridgeport, Hansen has gained worldwide fame for helping people recover from what’s called slipped rib syndrome.
Hansen says the pain caused by the syndrome can “turn a person’s life upside down,” so he went on to develop a surgical technique that is now used by surgeons in the UK, Denmark and now Australia.
Since performing his first procedure in early 2019, Hansen has operated on patients from across the U.S.
Hansen said the ribs can fall in line with each other, which can cause the chest to collapse inward and push against the broken ribs, which can lead to chronic pain.
“We have the eighth through 10th ribs on each side that are more flexible, and they kind of piggyback and share a connection with the seventh rib,” Hansen said. “Because they are so flexible, they are used with breathing and twisting and bending, and basically they are attached to any movements. with them.
“What this creates is constant compression of the nerve that runs between the ribs. That whole nerve can burn and feel like a hot wire or electric pain, but it can be much worse, and it has the ability to change someone’s life. low.”
Not long ago, Dr. Naveed Alam, of Melbourne, Australia, traveled to Bridgeport to study under Hansen at the United Hospital Center. Alam has returned to Australia where he plans to start using the surgical procedure performed by Hansen.
