Open Drainage with Rib Resection in The Treatment of Organized Thoracic Empyema

Objective: the aim of the study is to re‐emphasize the importance of open drainage in the treatment of advanced thoracic empyema. Methods: Fifty two patients with different types of thoracic empyema were received in advanced state with thick pus accumulating in the pleural cavity, in the period between 1996 and 2005. Most of these patients were too catchexic to tolerate thoracotomy for decortication or more aggressive treatment. We treated them by open drainage with rib resection. . Results: Nine patients (17.41 %) died∙'.while the rest of the patients survived. In 3 out of these 9 patients the death was due to the original pathology with empyema as an additional factor. Conclusion: open drainage should not be ignored as one of the therapeutic options in treatment of advanced thoracic empyema. It might be the best therapeutic modality in catchexic patients,