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Interact CardioVasc Thorac Surg 2007;6:691-694. doi:10.1510/icvts.2007.161497
© 2007 European Association of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery
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Sridhar Rathinam
Richard S. Steyn
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Work in progress report - Thoracic general

Management of complicated postoperative air-leak – a new indication for the Asherman chest seal

Sridhar Rathinam* and Richard S. Steyn

Regional Department of Thoracic Surgery, Birmingham Heartlands Hospital, Bordesley Green East, Birmingham B9 5SS, UK

*Corresponding author. Tel.: +44 121 424 2562; fax: +44 121 424 0562.

E-mail address: srathinam{at}rcsed.ac.uk. (S. Rathinam).

Postoperative air-leak is a problem which is frequently encountered in thoracic surgery. We describe the utility of the Asherman chest seal, a device used in primary trauma care in the successful management of a complicated postoperative air-leak. The Asherman Chest SealTM is a sterile occlusive dressing with a one-way Heimlich valve for treating open pneumothorax in acute settings. We used the Asherman chest seal in six patients from July 2001–June 2006 for management of persistent air-leak following thoracic surgical procedures. It was used in three decortication and three pleurectomy patients. There was an equal sex distribution with an age range of 24–67 years. The chest seal was used when drains fell out in the presence of air-leak or wound infection resulting in pneumothorax. All six patients had satisfactory expansion of the lungs with cessation of the air-leak. This was achieved without the pain and morbidity of a chest drain and inpatient stay. The Asherman chest seal is a simple but very useful device that has a role in management of complex air-leaks.

Key Words: Asherman chest seal; Air-leak; Decortication; Empyema

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