The characteristics of multiple rib fractures are as follows: 1. After a patient has multiple rib fractures, especially the anterolateral local chest wall can be softened due to the loss of intact rib support, and the patient will have paradoxical respiratory movements, i.e., the chest wall in the softened area is sunken during inspiration, and does not expand outward with the rest of the thorax, while the opposite is true during exhalation, and the softened area bulges outward, which is also called a shackled chest. 2. If the softened area is extensive, due to the pressure imbalance in the pleural cavity bilaterally during breathing, the mediastinum will flutter left and right, affecting the airway ventilation, and the patient will have a serious lack of oxygen and carbon dioxide retention in the body, and affect the venous blood return, which can produce respiratory failure and vascular failure in serious cases. Therefore, once diagnosed, multiple rib fractures should be actively treated surgically to restore the integrity of the thorax and normal respiratory function.