Abstract
This chapter will review the types of surgical drains and tubes available to the modern general and thoracic surgeon, with a brief mention of those available to the interventional radiologist. Proper drain care and management are also discussed with a focus on individual drain types and indications for use. Negative-pressure wound therapy (NPWT) is also reviewed. These modern drainage tools for managing wounds, fluid collections, abscesses, and enteric fistulae have significantly reduced the need for both initial and re-operative surgeries. This has led to decreased morbidity and mortality in the surgical population and has reduced the need for emergent interventions, thereby reducing the associated debilitating inflammatory response, unanticipated “collateral damage,” and stress to both the patient and operating surgeon.
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Suggested Reading
Meyerson JM. A brief history of two common surgical drains. Ann Plast Surg. 2016;77(1):4–5.
Urbach DR, Kennedy ED, Cohen MM. Colon and rectal anastomoses do not require routine drainage: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Ann Surg. 1999;229(2):174.
Mowery NT, et al. Practice management guidelines for management of hemothorax and occult pneumothorax. J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2011;70(2):510–8.
Dumville JC, et al. Negative pressure wound therapy for treating surgical wounds healing by secondary intention. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2015;6:CD011278.
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Chevrollier, G.S., Rosato, F.E., Rosato, E.L. (2018). Fundamentals of Drain Management. In: Palazzo, F. (eds) Fundamentals of General Surgery. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-75656-1_11
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-75656-1_11
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