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Chest Drain (Thoracostomy) Pump as Alternative to Ventilator?
I had a needle thoracostomy for a collapsed lung (pneumothorax) when a teenager. The operation took 5 minutes, was done in my hospital room as I watched and was almost painless (OK the initial anesthetic hurt a bit). They slid a metal needle between the ribs into the pleural cavity. It was attached to a hose and a small pump (looked like an aquarium pump) that provided negative pressure. I spent 3 days in the hospital. Use and removal was painless: they slid the needle out and put a bandaid on it.
Rather than build complex, cumbersome and expensive to run ventilators for Covid-19 patients, why not use the far simpler chest drain to remove fluid from the lungs?
- rolph 7y agothe interior of the lung must be drained in the case of pneumonia, covid or otherwise. the alveolar sacs filled with fluid are difficult to drain due to the viscosity and surface tension. this is why oxygen delivery at higher than atmospheric concentration may be required for diffusion across the alveolus thoracostomy only drains the space between the lung and the pleural membrane.