Management of pneumothorax with 8.3-French Pigtail Catheter: description of the ultrasound-guided technique and case series.

Abstract

Spontaneous and traumatic pneumothorax are most often treated with chest tube (CT) thoracostomy. However, it appears that small-bore drainage systems have similar success rates with lower complications, pain, and discomfort for the patient. We present the description of the ultrasound-guided technique for pneumothorax drainage with an 8.3-French pigtail catheter (PC) in a case series of 10 patients.