MRCP2-4331

A 49-year-old man, admitted for a routine hernia surgery, was found to have a pneumothorax on his preoperative chest X-ray. He has a history of chronic bronchitis and has smoked 45 packs of cigarettes per year. His chest X-ray reveals a 2.5 cm unilateral pneumothorax. Although he is experiencing shortness of breath, he is not experiencing chest pain. What would be the optimal approach to managing this patient?