Thoracostomy

Pneumothorax is an abnormal collection of air gas in the pleural space that causes an uncoupling of the lung from the chest wall and it may interfere with normal breathing. Primary pneumothorax may occur without any apparent cause, while a secondary pneumothorax occurs in the presence of existing lung pathology.

 

The treatment of pneumothorax depends on a number of factors; one of the methods is thoracostomy. In thoracostomy a flexible plastic tube is inserted through the chest wall into the pleural space or mediastinum in order to remove air, fluid or pus from the intrathoracic space. The tube has to be fixed in one position on the patient’s skin. The end of the tube is connected with the chest drainage canister, which collects the chest drainage.

The Pleura-Guard is specially designed for fixation of drainage catheters used to remove air in case of pneumothorax.

Noppen, M. (2002). “Manual Aspiration versus Chest Tube Drainage in First Episodes of Primary Spontaneous Pneumothorax: A Multicenter, Prospective, Randomized Pilot Study”. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine 165 (9): 1240–1244