Empyema and bronchopleural fistula. Experience with open window thoracostomy.

Open window thoracostomy (OWT) was created in 12 patients with empyema and sepsis after conventional therapy with antibiotics and drainage had failed. After creation of OWT all infections subsided within ten days to four months and all fistulae closed within one to four months. Complete obliteration of the empyema cavity by granulation tissue occurred in 11 of 12 patients within one to eight months, depending upon the size of the space. All patients tolerated the procedure well. Creation of OWT has not caused lung collapse in any of the patients due to fibrosis caused by the preceding infection. There was no complication or death. OWT is a safe procedure recommended in all patients with empyema resistant to conventional therapy. It does not need to be restricted to post-pneumonectomy cases. Operative closure of bronchopleural fistulae, a major surgical undertaking with an uncertain outcome, is usually unnecessary.