Follow-up care after 48 hours includes replacing the dressing with what?

• A. Remove dressing completely
• B. Leave dressing as is
• C. Replace dressing with a bandage
• D. Re-adhere gauze

Answer: (C)

After about 48 hours of stability, the chest tube incision dressing is typically changed to a simple bandage. The goal is to protect the wound while minimizing moisture and skin irritation, and to allow easy inspection of the site. The closed drainage system remains in place, so a non-occlusive bandage is usually sufficient at this stage. Keeping the original dressing beyond this point can trap moisture and irritate the skin, while removing the dressing completely isn’t necessary if there’s no drainage or air leak. Re-adhering gauze isn’t routinely needed once the site has stabilized.