Pleural Service conditions & treatments

The first dedicated pleural service in NSW

MQ Health Pleural Service unit provides full pleural disease assessment and management, in a multidisciplinary approach.

Symptoms

Symptoms associated with pleural disease may include:

shortness of breath
chronic cough
chest pain
fatigue and weight loss.

When to see your doctor

Consultation with a pleural specialist will help patients have an individualised state-of-the-art approach to their pleural disease and help them manage their condition in the safest and most effective way possible.

As an inpatient your team will need to refer you to the MQ Health Pleural Service unit directly by contacting the respiratory fellow on +61 (0) 435 533 316.

There are many reasons for fluid to accumulate in the pleural space. A few of these may include:

infection
cancers
inflammation
excess fluid in the body.

Occasionally, blood or air can enter and accumulate in the pleural space too. In order to properly address these issues it is important to consider all the causes, safely reach a diagnosis and choose the best management option possible.

Pleuroscopy is a medical procedure in which doctors can examine the pleural cavity, the space between the two layers of tissue (the pleura) that line the lungs. This procedure is performed in an operating room with anaesthesia and is considered minimally invasive.

A pleuroscopy may be done after a thoracentesis (a less invasive procedure to remove fluid from the pleural space) as a diagnostic procedure when abnormalities of the pleura are suspected. Thoracentesis can also be done as a treatment to remove fluid and alleviate symptoms.

MQ Health Pleural Service offers a range of procedures for patients including:

Pleural Tap/Thoracentesis

Pleural Tap/Thoracentesis is a procedure to remove fluid from the pleural space, which is the space between the lungs and the chest. Normally, very little fluid is present in this space. An accumulation of excess fluid between the layers of the pleura is called a pleural effusion.

Chest drain

Chest drains are small tubes inserted into the pleural space and can be kept in for days. They are usually indicated when there is a need to access the pleural space over a period of days.

Tunnelled pleural catheters

Tunnelled pleural catheters are chest drains that are specifically designed to safely stay in place for weeks to months. They are often used in situations where the fluid around the lung (pleural fluid) recurs frequently and causes symptoms such as in cancers.

In these difficult situations, tunnelled pleural catheters can eliminate the need for further procedures and considerably improve patients' quality of life.

Patients with comorbidities involving their heart, kidneys or liver are more at risk of developing pleural fluids. Patients with cancers involving any organ may also develop pleural effusions at some point in their journey with cancer.