We read with great interest Mandabushi and colleagues commentary about Serratus Anterior Plane Block as a New Analgesic Technique for Post-Thoracotomy Pain (1). They concluded that SAP block is very easy to perform and provides excellent analgesia in patients undergoing thoracotomy with minimal side effects. We would like to describe its possible use and limitations for analgesic control for th...

Objective: In an attempt to establish a treatment protocol for tuberculous empyema, we retrospectively reviewed our experience over a 3year period. Methods: Between January 1996 and December 1998, 26 patients (23 male and three female) with an average age of 33.8 years (range 18±61 years) presented with tuberculous empyema. The empyema was right-sided in 13, left-sided in 12 and bilateral in on...

background: seroma formation is a common complication after breast cancer surgery. several techniques such as tube drainage, fibrin sealant and suturing methods have been employed to prevent or reduce seroma formation. capitonnage, a suturing method widely used following hydatid cyst removal, has been used after breast surgery in limited studies. our aim was to compare the effectiveness of tube...

561 Dn. RAN50H0FF: I want to draw your attention to a group of infants with chronic subdural hematoma. The distinctive feature of these patients is marked enlargement of the skull. This megabocephaly was of such a degree in eight patients we treated that they were all admitted to the hospital with a tentative diagnosis of internal hydrocephalus. The presence of subdural hematoma was only discov...

Clinical details are given of two patients who developed ipsilateral pulmonary oedema following re-expansion of their spontaneous pneumothoraces by intercostal drainage of air. The possible mechanisms underlying the oedema are discussed, and prior literature is analysed. Reference is made particularly to its predictability and to precautions recommended to minimize the frequency of this potenti...

BACKGROUND The optimal chest tube size for the drainage of traumatic hemothoraces and pneumothoraces is unknown. The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy of small versus large chest tubes for use in thoracic trauma. Our hypothesis was that (1) there would be no difference in clinically relevant outcomes including retained hemothoraces, the need for additional tube insertion, and in...

INTRODUCTION Tubeless percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) in selected patients has been found to be safe and can reduce postoperative discomfort without increasing complications. The challenges of tubeless PCNL via supracostal access are inadequate drainage and postoperative bleeding, conditions that may increase pulmonary complications. We compare the efficacy and safety of the tubeless suprac...

Spontaneous pneumothorax is a recognised cause of respiratory distress in the neonatal period. Spontaneous pneumothorax occurring during the neonatal period in a term neonate is rare. We report a case of symptomatic spontaneous pneumothorax associated with congenital heart disease which needed intercostal drainage and mechanical ventilation in our NICU unit.

BACKGROUND A study was undertaken to compare the efficacy of short term tube thoracostomy drainage with standard tube thoracostomy drainage before instillation of tetracycline for sclerotherapy of malignant pleural effusions. METHODS The study consisted of a randomised clinical trial in a sequential sample of 25 patients with malignant pleural effusions documented cytopathologically. Fifteen ...

Tension chylothorax following blunt thoracic trauma is an extremely rare condition. Here we report such a case and review its management. A 31-year-old man was involved in a road traffic collision. The car rolled over and the patient was ejected from the vehicle. On arrival at the Emergency Department the patient was conscious and haemodynamically stable. Clinical examination of the chest and a...