Use of small-bore silastic drains in general thoracic surgery.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the safety and efficacy of small-bore, silastic drains for patients undergoing general thoracic surgery.


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.


CONCLUSIONS
We considered that soft, small-bore silastic drains were just as effective as traditional DL tubes, but caused less pain especially in VATS cases.
Yamaguchi
Masafumi
M
Department of Surgery and Science, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
Yoshino
Ichiro
I
Kameyama
Toshifumi
T
Osoegawa
Atsushi
A
Tagawa
Tetsuzo
T
Yohena
Tomofumi
T
Maehara
Yoshihiko
Y
D004129:Dimethylpolysiloxanes / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004322:Drainage / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004867:Equipment Design; D006801:Humans; D010147:Pain Measurement; D012828:Silicones / Q000627:therapeutic use; D020775:Thoracic Surgery, Video-Assisted; D019616:Thoracic Surgical Procedures / Q000295:instrumentation*
D004129:Dimethylpolysiloxanes; D012828:Silicones; C013830:baysilon