Role of chest tube drainage in physical function after thoracoscopic lung resection

A chest tube is traditionally placed to drain pleural effusions in order to maintain the pressure balance of the thorax after pneumectomy and at the same time observe possible hemorrhage, air or lymphatic leakage (1-3). Even though the rapid progress of the chest tube management along with the advances in surgical technologies and ideas in lung surgery, much controversy still exists on size and type of chest tube, criteria for chest tube removal after surgery over these years (1,4,5). What’s more, chest tube placement postoperatively increases chest pain and analgesic dosage and even extends the length of hospital stay, and most importantly affects patients’ early motivation and postoperative rehabilitation.