EJCTS Click here for details of sales representative
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Personal Folders
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Author home page(s):
Gregory Clark
Right arrow Permission Requests
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Clark, G.
Right arrow Articles by Spiliopoulos, A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Clark, G.
Right arrow Articles by Spiliopoulos, A.
Related Collections
Right arrow Lung - other

Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 2007;31:566-568. doi:10.1016/j.ejcts.2006.12.010
Copyright © 2007, European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Case reports

Small size new silastic drains: life-threatening hypovolemic shock after thoracic surgery associated with a non-functioning chest tube

Gregory Clarka,*, Marc Lickerb, Daniel Bertina, Anastase Spiliopoulosb

a Centre Hospitalier du Centre du Valais, Sion, Switzerland
b Service d’Anesthésie et de chirurgie, Hôpital Universitaire de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland

Received 1 September 2006; received in revised form 10 December 2006; accepted 12 December 2006.

* Corresponding author. Address: Centre Valaisan de Pneumologie, CHCVs, 3963 Crans-Montana, Switzerland. Tel.: +41 27 603 81 80; fax: +41 27 603 81 81. (Email: gclark{at}smile.ch).

We report a case of a massive haemothorax following bilateral surgical resection of apical bullae. Occult bleeding was not recognized until the onset of a life-threatening circulatory collapse associated with metabolic acidosis and a fall in haemoglobin level. Using a thoracotomy, large amounts of blood were evacuated from the thoracic cavity and bleeding originating from ruptured pleural adhesion was easily controlled. Thrombotic material with talc particles was found to obstruct the 19-French 4-channel Blake drain. Although this new silastic Blake tube has been recommended in cardiac surgical patients, extending its indication in thoracic surgery, particularly when talc pleurodesis is used, should be questioned given the enhanced postoperative prothrombotic state and risk of drain obstruction. In conclusion, caution should be exercised when new small-sized material is introduced in clinical practice, especially after talc pleurodesis following thoracic surgery.

Key Words: Thoracic surgical procedures • Chest tubes/complications • Silastic • Haemothorax






HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
ANN THORAC SURG ASIAN CARDIOVASC THORAC ANN EUR J CARDIOTHORAC SURG
J THORAC CARDIOVASC SURG ICVTS ALL CTSNet JOURNALS
Copyright © 2007 European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. Published by Elsevier. All rights reserved.