Flutter valve

[1] The design of the flutter valve features a rubber sleeve in a plastic case, where the rubber sleeve is arranged so that when air flows through the valve the sleeve opens and allows the outwards airflow from the body of the patient; however, when the airflow is reversed, the rubber sleeve closes and halts backwards airflow into the body of the patient.

The construction of the flutter valve enables it to function as a one-way valve allowing airflow, or the flow of a fluid, in only one direction along the drainage tube.

[2] Usage of the flutter valve presents potential problems such as clogging of the chest tube, which might provoke the recurrence of the pneumothorax or the subcutaneous emphysema, which can lead to empyema.

The traditional chest tube collection box often requires a longer hospital stay.

Additional to the Heimlich valve, a chest-drainage management system, which typically enables the application of vacuum, and the quantification of the effluent; however, a drainage-management system is much a larger apparatus with more tubing, which encumbers the patient.