A New Portable Chest Drainage Device Renzo Lodi, MD, and Alessandro Stefani, MD Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Modena, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy Background. Persistent air leak is a frequent complica- Results. We analyze the...
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A New Portable Chest Drainage Device Renzo Lodi, MD, and Alessandro Stefani, MD Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Modena, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy Background. Persistent air leak is a frequent complica- Results. We analyze the advantages of our device tion in lung operation. The Heimlich valve is the stan- versus the Heimlich valve in the first series of 18 selected dard system for venting the pleural cavity. The device patients. Our system is drier and cleaner, easier to man- achieves good results and is well tolerated, but the main age, and ambulatory visits are seldom needed. There is problem is when air leak is associated with fluid leakage. also a cost savings. Methods. In order to improve the outpatient manage- Conclusions. Our device enhances ambulation, inde- ment of persistent air and fluid drainage after resectional pendence, and the quality of life of the patients, and procedures, we developed an original device. It is a decreases the need for hospital
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