The Application of Pigtail Catheters in Postoperative Drainage of Lung Cancer

Although minimally invasive surgery has been widely carried out at present, the postoperative pain of patients with lung cancer is still one of the difficult problems to solve in clinical practice.

This study explored whether indwelling pigtail catheters after lung cancer surgery can help to reduce postoperative pain and promote the recovery of patients as soon as possible.

From June 2018 to June 2020, patients who underwent thoracoscopic radical resection of lung cancer in our hospital were randomly divided into 2 groups: the pigtail catheter group and the control group. We compared the postoperative time of thoracic catheter removal, postoperative pain score, proportion of postoperative pleural effusion, postoperative hospitalization time, and postoperative complications of the 2 groups.

A total of 1375 patients were enrolled, including 677 patients in the pigtail catheter group and 698 patients in the control group. Compared with the control group, the pigtail catheter group had an earlier time of thoracic catheter removal, lower postoperative pain score, lower proportion of pleural effusion diagnosed by postoperative chest radiograph, and shorter postoperative average hospital stay, but there was no significant difference in postoperative complications.

The application of pigtail catheters after radical resection of lung cancer can reduce postoperative pain, accelerate the recovery of patients and shorten the postoperative hospital stay and is safe and reliable in clinical application.