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...

The aim of this prospective study was to determine the rate of recurrence for spontaneous pneumothorax (SP) after tetracycline pleurodesis (TCP), using that of observation, tube thoracostomy alone, and thoracotomy as references. From 1985 to the end of 1991, 78 patients were treated with tetracycline pleurodesis and 135 patients served as control subjects. Pleurodesis was induced by instillatio...

Recommended criteria for surgical drainage of parapneumonic effusions include evidence of frank purulence, a glucose level less than 40 mg/dl, a pH of less than 7.00, or an LDH greater than 1,000 IU/L. To test the utility of these criteria, we reviewed the three-year experience of three Rochester, NY, hospitals. We identified 133 patients undergoing thoracentesis for putative parapneumonic effu...

142 was treated with bullectomy five years ago. He had been admitted to the hospital for three times with a similar presentation; a spontaneous, right basal pneumothorax and was treated with tube thoracostomy. He was conscious, with vital signs of arterial blood pressure 135/80 mmHg, the heart rate 92 beats per minute, respiratory rate 28 per minute and an oxygen saturation of 89% at room air. ...

Living lobar lung transplantation places two donors at risk for each recipient. We examined the perioperative outcomes associated with the 253 donor lobectomies performed at our institution during our first decade of living lobar lung transplantation. There have been no perioperative or long-term deaths. 80.2% of donors (n = 203) had no perioperative complications, while fifty (19.8%) had one o...

We have reported here a case of thoraco diaphragmatico biliary fistula in a 24 years old male who was managed conservatively with antibiotics and tube thoracostomy and had complete radiological clearance. Thoracobiliary fistulas (TBF) (bronchobiliary and p thoraco-abdominal trauma. Owing to their rarity, there is little consensus on the optimal management. The diagnostic suspicion however must ...