The authors report a simple technique for effective management of surgical drains and their reliable removal in elective hip and knee arthroplasty. Many surgeons use surgical drains for elective total hip and knee arthroplasties and instruct residents in their use despite limited evidence to support routine use of surgical drains in noninfected cases. There are many different types of drains an...

Submandibular sialoadenectomy is a common head and neck procedure. Indications include the presence of benign and malignant tumors and inflammatory disease with or without intraglandular sialolithiasis. The standard technique involves a variably sized incision. The facial artery and vein are usually ligated and transected during the procedure, and either suction or nonsuction wound drainage is ...

We describe a previously healthy, 22-year-old man who, after a closed fracture of the femur and subsequent operation, developed chronic osteomyelitis. Within a few days, infected bone fragments, bone, and wound drainage repeatedly yielded three different filamentous fungi: Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus flavus, and Chalara ellisii. Histologic examination of the bone revealed septate hyphae....

This study aimed to characterize Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates in 2 intensive care units in Egypt and Saudi Arabia. P. aeruginosa isolates from patients' and staff hands and environmental samples were typed using antibiotyping and ERIC-PCR. In Egypt, isolates from suction apparatus tubing and drainage containers (A7) and AV tubing (A8) were linked to those from patients who had these antibiot...

Twenty-three patients with primary spontaneous pneumothorax and 30 patients with secondary spontaneous pneumothorax treated by intercostal catheter drainage with underwater seal were divided randomly into two groups, one receiving suction drainage (up to 20 cm H2O pressure) and the other no suction. The success rate was 57% for the former and 50% for the latter. The suction group spent an avera...

OBJECTIVES This study attempted to identify which is the more effective suction system. The objective was to compare open versus closed suction systems according to a systematic review. METHODS A search of scientific literature was conducted in MedLine, LILACS and Cochrane between 1997 and August 2007 using the key words: endotracheal suction and closed suction. Included were articles that co...

BACKGROUND The use of closed-suction drains after penile implant surgery remains controversial. The use of BioPatch®, a protective disk with chlorhexidine gluconate, may reduce the incidence of drain-related infections, one of the feared complications of drains. The aim of this study is to describe a novel use of BioPatch® in penile implant surgery as well as additional techniques that may pote...