Chest Tube

They had to put a chest tube in Ed this morning. They spotted air around his lungs when they did a cat scan Friday, another x-ray this morning still showed air and that’s why he was feeling uncomfortable the past couple of days.

Ed will probably be in the hospital a couple of extra days to make sure everything is clear. One small set back but we’re glad they found it now instead of at home. The doctors said it’s not unusual especially from a 2nd open heart surgery operation because of the old scar tissue.

Chest Tubes
Chest tubes are inserted to drain blood, fluid, or air and allow full expansion of the lungs. The tube is placed between the ribs and into the space between the inner lining and the outer lining of the lung (pleural space).

The chest tube usually remains in place until the X-rays show that all the blood, fluid, or air has drained from the chest and the lung has fully re-expanded. When the chest tube is no longer needed, it can be easily removed, usually without the need for medications to sedate or numb the patient. Medications may be used to prevent or treat infection (antibiotics).

Source:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002947.htm
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I’ll have another update later today…