BACKGROUND Mortality from thoracic injuries has declined significantly from 63% in the Civil War to 3% in Vietnam. We reviewed the injury patterns, procedures, blood products, and mortality of US soldiers sustaining a thoracic injury during Operation Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF). METHODS Data on US soldiers with a thoracic injury during OEF/OIF from January 2003 to May 2011 wa...

Introduction: central venous line insertion is associated with significant complications. Procedural complications relating to lung injury is relatively common, and these may require tube thoracostomy for management. Although a postprocedure chest X-ray is routinely undertaken in many centers, erroneous interpretation can lead to potentially incorrect and unnecessary further intervention. case ...

Background: Pyothorax in cats is routinely managed, at least initially, with thoracic tube placement associated systemic antimicrobial administration. Traditionally, large-bore trocar-type thoracostomy tubes have preferentially been used for the drainage of thick material from pleural space. In recent years, use small-bore wire-guided drains has increased both small animals and humans. Few stud...

BACKGROUND Surgery for pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) has become rather limited. However, it is still required for some sequelae and complications. This is a 15-year retrospective study of cases operated upon for pulmonary TB at a centre. PATIENTS AND METHODS A total of 2878 cases underwent surgical procedures for various complications of pulmonary TB over a 15-year-long period. After excluding ...

Pneumothoraces in association with laparoscopy are uncommon and potentially disastrous complications that may also occur without adverse sequelae. The "floppy diaphragm sign" is a readily discernible and useful sign of a laparoscopic-induced pneumothorax. Tube thoracostomy is generally not indicated in stable patients as the pneumothorax typically resolves quickly upon desufflation of the pneum...

Nephropleural fistulae are rare but serious thoracic complications of percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL). Herein, we present the management of a 54-year-old female with a delayed presentation of nephropleural fistula. The role of serial thoracentesis as a safe, less invasive, less painful alternative to tube thoracostomy is highlighted. In select cases, this may represent an attractive managem...

OBJECTIVE To compare the efficacy, safety, and outcome of thoracoscopic talc poudrage (TTP) versus povidone-iodine pleurodesis (PIP) through a thoracostomy tube as a palliative treatment of pleural effusion due to metastatic breast carcinoma (MBC). METHODS A total of 42 MBC patients were prospectively enrolled in a randomized controlled trial. Twenty-two patients received TTP (group A), where...

BACKGROUND Tube thoracostomy remains the standard of care for the treatment of pneumothoraces and simple effusions. This report describes a favorable experience with the 8.3 French pigtail catheter as a less invasive alternative to traditional chest tube insertion. METHODS We retrospectively reviewed 109 consecutive pigtail catheter placements. Catheters were inserted under local anesthesia a...