...Continued... Reconstruction began using titanium plates and screws and this procedure resulted in an extremely anxious 6 hour wait for Steve, Barbara's husband along with close family and friends.

The Synthes Matrix Rib System; developed in Switzerland; uses a series of curved titanium plates around 10cm to 20cm long and 10mm wide. They are sculpted in a factory and fine tuned by a surgeon to fit the contours of the patient's ribs; rather like a Meccano set.

Barbara remained at the Royal's intensive care unit for 7 days, while Steve; severely traumatised by the accident; drove to and from the hospital twice a day from their Northwich home to visit his injured wife.

The trauma collaborative work; across the 3 hospitals; has led to a reduction in the length of stay a patient requires in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) by more than 4 days.

Within 10 weeks Barbara; who works in the NHS as a part time clinical physiologist in cardiology at Warrington Hospital was back in the saddle for the first time since the accident attempting to regain her confidence.

Barbara, 52, said:- "I'm delighted with the innovative surgery Sanjay Kalra performed- he has worked wonders and I am extremely grateful to him as his expertise has resulted in a much more timely and successful recovery. I was very impressed with the whole major trauma team - they were so well organised and efficient. They were all displaying clear names and their job roles; which, at the time was very helpful and reassuring to me. I was frightened and in extreme pain. I had been given morphine to help deal with the pain and was a little confused and anxious about my surroundings. After having an urgent CT scan, I was informed of the severity of my injuries and chest drains were inserted to allow the air and blood that had collected to be drained. Shortly after my admission to the intensive care unit, an epidural line was inserted by an anaesthetist, Dr Ananth Balasubramaniam. I remember being incredibly grateful for this as it significantly reduced my extreme level of pain. Again, I have nothing but praise for all the dedicated and expert staff who helped to look after me during my stay in intensive care. Earlier, when I was in the Ambulance I recall the crew discussing the latest technology for stabilising multiple rib fractures they'd recently introduced at the Royal; so that was where I was taken."

Normally broken ribs take at least 6 weeks to heal but in Barbara's case it could have taken even longer because of potential complications with multiple breaks on 6 of the broken ribs.

Barbara added:- "I realised that this surgery was quite novel and I'm lucky to have had this technology and procedure on my doorstep, in Liverpool. I am so fortunate to have been dealt with by such a talented surgical team. It's been a bit of a joke with friends and colleagues referring to me as 'barbed wire' instead of Barbara and also the 'bionic woman'! I've not been through the security body scanners at an airport yet; they will probably never have seen anything quite like it!  I have recovered very well indeed. I am still a little hindered by weakness and slight numbness down my left side due to nerve damage from the accident but am feeling confident that this will reduce with time and the help of physiotherapy at my local hospital."

Mr Sanjay Kalra, consultant trauma and orthopaedic surgeon, said:- "The pain of multiple broken ribs is excruciating so patients naturally try not to move around much. Because taking deep breaths and coughing is painful, there's an increased risk of pneumonia because phlegm can build up within the lungs and can often become infected. With this technology the procedure we use not only reduces the risk of complications, but encourages a faster return to normal function. It is only recommended for patients who have suffered severe chest trauma with multiple broken ribs. The results and patient outcomes have been excellent for patients like Barbara at the both the Royal and Aintree hospitals."

Barbara is now riding again and carefully re-building confidence; the bond is growing stronger than ever with her horse Figaro.