Background: Small silastic flexible drains (Blake drains, Ethicon, Somerville, NJ, USA) are now widely used for drainage after thoracic surgery. Despite their increasing use, their advantages are still unclear.
Methods: We examined 134 cases who underwent lobectomy and lymph node dissection for primary lung cancer and retrospectively compared the changes in the amount of postoperative drainage and wound healing at the drainage sites between 87 cases using a 19Fr Blake drain and 47 cases using a 28Fr conventional drain.
Results: The amount of postoperative drainage was higher in the conventional drain group between 0 to 12 hours and became higher in the Blake drain group between 12 to 24 hours, but there were no significant differences in amounts between the two groups. There was, however, a significant difference between the two groups, with good wound healing at the drainage sites observed in all cases with the Blake drain group.
Conclusion: The use of a 19Fr Blake drain instead of a 28Fr conventional drain as a means of performing drainage after a lobectomy for primary lung cancer appears to have no disadvantages.