The primary care in terms of emergency for
pneumothorax is chest drainage in almost cases. The following cases of
pneumothorax and the complications need something of surgery and treatments.
Pneumothorax with
subcutaneous emphysema often needs small skin incisions around the drainage tube.
Tension pneumothorax often needs urgent chest drainage.
Pneumothorax with intractable air leakage often needs interventional treatments like endobroncheal occlusion (EBO) or thoracographic
fibrin glue sealing method (TGF) as well as urgent thoracoscopic surgery.
Pneumothorax with acute
empyema also often needs urgent thoracoscopic surgery within 2 weeks if chest drainage or
drug therapy are unsuccessful. It will probably become chronic
empyema of thorax after then.
Pneumothorax with
bleeding needs urgent thoracoscopic surgery in case of continuous
bleeding over 200 ml/2 hours. In any cases of emergency for
pneumothorax, respiratory physicians should collaborate with respiratory surgeons at the 1st stage because it is important to timely judge conversion of surgical treatments from medical treatments.