Are Chest Drains Routinely Required After Thoracic Surgery? A Drainology Study of On-Table Chest Drain Removals

Thursday, August 24, 2023

Submitted by

Ashiq Abdul Khader

Source

Source Name: JTCVS Open

Source URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666273623001237

Author(s)

Ashiq Abdul Khader, Aina Pons, Abigail Palmares, Sarah Booth, Chiara Proli, Paulo De Sousa, Eric Lim

This study reports outcomes of protocolized management of chest drain removal on-table for patients undergoing wedge resections and minor thoracic procedures. Chest drains were removed at the end of the operation if air leak was < 20 ml/min. Between 2016 and 2021, 107 patients underwent on-table chest drain removal with a 0.9 percent reintervention rate. Safe on-table chest drain removal using digital drainage in select cases challenges the need for routine drain insertion in thoracic surgery.

Comments

Submitted by Aristotle Protopapas on Wed, 2023-08-30 05:54

interesting video accompanying a patient-cantered retrospective study. The radiologic incidence of post-VATS pneumothorax is also interesting and perhaps merits further evaluation by high-resolution CT thorax as a prospective trial. The meticulous technique of drain removal and the succinct discussion in the video demonstration would be of interest to allied health professionals.