What am I looking at?
Visual recognition
Pigtail catheter with a locking suture at the hub that draws the loop shut; the taut string is visible at the hub.
12-04
Locking pigtail drainage catheter
Locking drainage catheter
Three-panel learning framework
Recognition, context, and distinction
What does it do, and where will I see it?
Use & procedural context
Drainage catheter whose distal pigtail is cinched into a closed loop by an internal string, mechanically anchoring it in a cavity to resist inadvertent dislodgement. Typical procedural contexts include abscesses, seromas, bilomas, urinomas, and hematomas where secure retention is essential.
What most clearly distinguishes it from similar devices?
Key distinctions
The locking pigtail is mechanically cinched into a closed retention loop, distinguishing it from a nonlocking pigtail whose curved configuration is not secured by a locking string.