Does a chest tube hurt?

The placement of: A chest tube usually does cause pain.

Chest Tubes: Yes. Of course. But i would bet you already know that. I would be interested in the context of your question. I know of no medical team that would be using a chest tube as part of treatment unless it was absolutely necessary.

Depends: The small bore chest tubes inserted with a needle are much less painful than the large bore tubes that are inserted by making an incision and dissecting tissue down to the pleural.