Air Leak After Pulmonary Resection

This issue of the Thoracic Surgery Clinics will cover the following topics: physiology of pleural space, risk factors for prolonged air leak after pulmonary resection, surgical techniques to avoid parenchymal injury during lung resection, intraoperative measures for preventing air leaks, sealants and buttressing materials in pulmonary surgery, postoperative strategies to treat persistent air leaks, the management of chest tubes after pulmonary resection, digital and smart chest drainage systems to monitor air leaks, portable chest drainage systems and outpatient chest tube management, and prolonged air leak after LVRS and in the ventilated patients.