Heimlich valve and pneumothorax

First introduced in 1965, the Heimlich flutter valve is a one-way portable device that was designed for use as a drainage procedure in order to avoid the need for intrapleural suction after thoracotomy (1). The inventor of the valve was Henry Heimlich, an American thoracic surgeon who also first described the Heimlich maneuver. Soon, it became very popular in the outpatient management of patients with prolonged air-leakage from various causes (2), and has also been used in emergency treatment of pneumothorax in battle fronts (3)