• Apostolos Gogakos, Nikolaos Barbetakis, George Lazaridis, Antonis Papaiwannou, Anastasia Karavergou, Sofia Lampaki, Sofia Baka, Ioannis Mpoukovinas, Vasilis Karavasilis, Ioannis Kioumis, Georgia Pitsiou, Nikolaos Katsikogiannis, Kosmas Tsakiridis, Aggeliki Rapti, Georgia Trakada, Athanasios Zissimopoulos, Katerina Tsirgogianni, Konstantinos Zarogoulidis, and Paul Zarogoulidis.
• 1 Thoracic Surgery Department, Theagenio Cancer Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece ; 2 Department of Medical Oncology, Aristotle University School of Medicine, Thessaloniki, Greece ; 3 Pulmonary-Oncology, "G. Papanikolaou" General Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece ; 4 Oncology Department, "Interbalkan" European Medical Center, Thessaloniki, Greece ; 5 Oncology Department, "BioMedicine" Private Clinic, Thessaloniki, Greece ; 6 Surgery Department, University General Hospital of Alexandroupolis, Alexandroupolis, Greece ; 7 Thoracic Surgery Department, "Saint Luke" Private Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece ; 8 2nd Pulmonary Clinic of "Sotiria" Hospital, Athens, Greece ; 9 Pulmonary Laboratory of Alexandra Hospital, University of Athens, Athens, Greece ; 10 Nuclear Medicine Department, University General Hospital of Alexandroupolis, Democritus University of Thrace, Alexandroupolis, Greece.
• Ann Transl Med. 2015 Mar 1; 3 (4): 54.

AbstractThe Heimlich valve is a small one-way valve used for chest drainage that empties into a flexible collection device and prevents return of gases or fluids into the pleural space. The Heimlich valve is less than 13 cm (5 inches) long and facilitates patient ambulation. Currently there are several systems in the market. It can be used in many patients instead of a traditional water seal drainage system. The Heimlich chest drainage valve was developed so that the process of draining the pleural cavity could be accomplished in a safe, relatively simple, and efficient manner. This valve system has replaced the cumbersome underwater drainage bottle system. Moreover; the Heimlich valve system connects to chest tubing and allows fluid and air to pass in one direction only. This system functions in any position, and it does not ever need to be clamped, a regulated suction can be attached to it if necessary. The valve drains into a plastic bag that can be held at any level, allowing the patient undergoing chest drainage to be ambulatory simply by carrying the bag. In the current mini review we will present the Heimlich valve system and method of insertion.

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