Between January 1977 and December 1978, 24 patients with recurrent or chronic spontaneous pneumothorax were treated in the Hong Kong University Cardiothoracic Centre at Grantham Hospital by talc pleurodesis. Talc poudrage had been carried out under local infiltration anesthesia by a technique that utilizes the Venturi principle and the help of an oxygen injector, used normally for ventilating a patient during bronchoscopy with a rigid bronchoscope. By using this method of poudrage, a uniform application of the powder over the whole pleural surface can be achieved and successful pleurodesis can be obtained in all patients under local anesthesia.