Changing dogmas: history of development in treatment modalities of traumatic pneumothorax, hemothorax, and posttraumatic empyema thoracis.

Development of treatment modalities for chest wounds and traumatic empyema thoracis is reviewed in the light of war experience. Mortality from thoracic injury was more than 50% before World War I and was about 25% during World War I. It came down to 10% in World War II and was about 5% during the Korean War.