Patent ID: 7326197

Claim:
A method of draining of fluid, air and contaminants from a thoracic cavity of a mammalian patient comprising: inserting a tapered blunt tip of a flexible trocar and a distal end of an axially elongate tube into an incision into a thoracic cavity of a mammalian patient, wherein the flexible trocar is pre-inserted through a drainage lumen of a pre-attached, bidirectional, non-removable valve attached to a proximal end of the axially elongate tube and through a drainage lumen of the axially elongate tube and extends substantially the length of the axially elongate tube; selectively bending a region near the distal tip of the axially elongate tube while advancing the axially elongate tube into the thoracic cavity, wherein the bending steers the axially elongate tube into the thoracic cavity during insertion; removing the flexible trocar through the valve from the drainage lumen of the axially elongate tube and the drainage lumen of the valve; and selectively opening or closing the valve to control influx and efflux of fluid, air or contaminants into the thoracic cavity through the drainage lumen of the axially elongate tube.