Pleurodesis
Pleurodesis is a treatment option that involves creating mild inflammation between the lung and chest cavity pleura. When you draw excess fluid out of the chest cavity, your doctor will inject a drug into the area. The purpose of this drug is to ensure two layers of the pleura stick together, and, as a result, prevent the accumulation of fluid between them. Your doctor will recommend this procedure if your pleural effusion is caused by cancer. Pleurodesis reduces the need for regular drainage.
Surgery
Surgery is usually recommended if your symptoms don’t improve after drainage and antibiotics. The most common surgical procedures to treat pleural effusion include thoracoscopic debridement or thoracoscopic decortication.
Thoracoscopic decortication involves inserting a thoracoscope into the pleural space, removing any tissue that causes problems, surgically cleaning a wound and helping it heal. This procedure is clinically referred to as medical pleuroscopy or thoracoscopy.
In some cases, your doctor will surgically insert a shunt, or small tube into your chest cavity to change the direction of the fluid from the chest into the abdomen, where it can easily be eliminated from your body.
Your doctor may also recommend pleurectomy, a procedure where the surgeon removes the part of the pleural lining to treat pleural effusion.