A device for dilating an opening in a chest wall to facilitate insertion of a chest tube into the pleural cavity. A forceps has a blunt distal tip suitable for carrying out blunt dissection of the tissue of the chest wall, and a channel along one arm of the forceps. A wire extends through the channel to provide access to the pleural cavity. Following removal of the forceps from the wire, the distal end of the chest tube can be inserted into the pleural cavity over the wire.
