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Use of small-bore silastic drains in general thoracic surgery
Masafumi Yamaguchi1, Ichiro Yoshino, Toshifumi Kameyama
1Department of Surgery and Science, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
Study Objective:
To evaluate the safety and efficacy of small-bore, silastic drains for patients undergoing general thoracic surgery.
Patients And Methods:
Twenty-five patients who received soft, small-bore, silastic drains were compared with 17 patients who received semi-rigid double lumen (DL) tubes retrospectively.
Results:
The pain score was significantly lower in patients who received the silastic tubes in video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) cases on postoperative days 5 and 6 , after continuous epidural analgesia had finished (P=0.018). No specific morbidity was seen in the patients who received silastic tubes.
Conclusion:
We considered that soft, small-bore silastic drains were just as effective as traditional DL tubes, but caused less pain especially in VATS cases.
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