The chest seal application will be reviewed during the video below, but a couple of points are worth mentioning in advance:
Edges of the chest seal must extend 2 INCHES BEYOND the edges of the wound.
Continue to monitor the casualty after treatment with a vented chest seal. If the casualty condition worsens, a tension pneumothorax should be suspected. This will be discussed in detail later in this module but involves trapped air compressing the heart and great vessels and is significantly more dangerous than a standard open pneumothorax. If that happens, burping or removing, then replacing, the dressing may help – a procedure that will be explained in the video. Otherwise, a needle decompression of the chest may be needed.