A fluid-management system for selectively draining fluid from a body cavity includes a valve assembly and a tube for carrying fluid from a body cavity of a person to the valve assembly. The valve assembly is configured to be positioned external to the person's body and comprises (i) an inlet, (ii) an outlet, (iii) one or more one-way valves positioned between the inlet and outlet that are each configured to open and close based on fluctuations in pressure between the person's body cavity and the one-way valve, and (iv) an adjustable outlet lock configured to selectively prevent fluid movement through the outlet.

A chest valve including: a housing including an inlet configured to connect to a chest tube, an outlet and a fluid passage from the inlet to the outlet; and a one-way valve within the housing and included in the flow passage, wherein the one-way valve includes: (i) a first tubular strip wherein having an internal air passage and a first layer defining the air passage, wherein the first layer has a first thickness and the internal air passage of the first tubular strip is included in fluid passage of the housing; and (ii) a second tubular strip wherein having a second layer with a second thickness with a second thickness greater than the first thickness, wherein an outer surface of the second tubular strip is adjacent and overlaps an outer surface of the first tubular strip.

A chest drainage system securing apparatus for securing and maintaining chest drainage systems in position following placement into a human or animal patient and preventing movement or unplanned removal thereof in response to the application of significant forces in any direction thereto, be they longitudinal, torsional/rotational or bending. The securement system includes retention devices secured to a chest tube which interact with an adhesive pad releasably attached to a patient to ensure proper positioning of the chest tube. The adhesive pad includes one or more Heimlich-type valves for sealing sucking chest wounds and for sealing an incision formed in a patients skin and chest for the placement and insertion of a chest tube.

A system for treatment of an open wound in a chest of a patient is disclosed. The system includes a seal membrane configured to adhere to the chest and having an air passage. The system also includes a mechanism removably coupled to the seal membrane over the air passage. The mechanism is configured to allow air to pass through the mechanism in a first direction and not to pass in a second direction opposite the first direction.

An indwelling pleural catheter system comprises an indwelling catheter device (2) comprising a catheter tube (7) with a fenestrated distal end (7A) configured to reside in the pleural cavity of a subject and a connection hub (10) fluidically coupled to a proximal end (7B) of the catheter tube, a skin anchoring member (3) to anchor the connection hub (10) to the skin of the subject, and optionally a detachable ambulatory suction module (4) configured for detachable attachment to the connection hub (10). The suction module (4) comprises a fluid inlet (19) configured for fluidic coupling to the catheter tube (7) through the connection hub (10) and a fluid outlet (20) configured for detachable fluidic coupling to a pleural fluid drainage system (5) to drain pleural fluid through the detachable ambulatory suction module. The detachable ambulatory suction module is configured to exert a negative pressure in the catheter tube upon detachment of the pleural fluid drainage system from the suction module. Treatment of pleural effusion using the system of the invention is described. An indwelling catheter system for draining fluid from the peritoneal cavity, and methods of treating ascites, is also described.

Systems and methods are provided for performing a medical procedure within a patient's body that involves a thoracic duct including an ostium communicating with the patient's venous system. A distal end of a catheter is introduced through the patient's venous system into a body lumen adjacent the ostium of the thoracic duct. An expandable member on the distal end of the tubular member may be expanded adjacent the ostium, e.g., within the body lumen or the thoracic duct itself, and used to isolate the thoracic duct from the body lumen, whereupon a medical procedure may be performed via the thoracic duct. For example, lymphatic fluid may be removed from the thoracic duct through a lumen of the tubular member and/or one or more agents may be introduced into the thoracic duct through the tubular member.

A chest tube device with neurostimulation is provided, along with a method of electrically stimulating at least one of (i) one or more peripheral nerves and (ii) one or more nerve fibers of a thoracic region of a patient, to mitigate pain in patients undergoing chest tube implantation. The chest tube device includes a tubular member and an electro-analgesic region to provide neurostimulation to one or more peripheral nerves and/or nerve fibers of the thoracic region of the patient. The method includes electrically stimulating one or more peripheral nerves and/or nerve fibers of the thoracic region of the patient, and hyperpolarizing the one or more peripheral nerves and/or nerve fibers of the thoracic region to (i) reduce an amount of pain signals from being transmitted to the brain of the patient and/or (ii) prevent pain signals from being transmitted to the brain of the patient.

Devices and methods for managing chest or wound drainage are disclosed where in one embodiment, the system generally comprises a chest tube configured for insertion at least partially within a body of a subject, a drainage tube fluidly coupled with the chest tube, a reservoir fluidly coupled with the drainage tube, a pump in communication with the reservoir, and a controller in fluid communication with the drainage tube. The controller may be configured to determine a readiness for removal of the chest tube from the body based upon one or more removal parameters which are obtained over a period of time via the controller.

The present disclosure provides apparatus and method for treating tension pneumothorax by using a rapid deployment chest port. The rapid deployment chest port can penetrate a patient's body to access a distressed pleural space. The rapid deployment chest port may create an airtight seal between the inside and outside of the patient's body and, when expanded, allow air or fluid to flow in one direction from inside the body to outside the body.

An automatic pump-based fluid management system, as described herein, comprises an intercostal pump that is, generally, a resiliently flexible bulb having an inlet and an outlet. The inlet is attached to a first tube that extends from the intercostal pump to a first area of a patient's body, for example, the patient's pleural cavity. The outlet is connected to a second tube that extends from the intercostal pump to a second area of a patient's body, for example, the patient's peritoneal cavity. In use, the intercostal pump is placed between a first rib and a second rib in a patient. The intercostal pump operates by being successively compressed and decompressed between the first and second ribs as the patient breaths.