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Adel's avatar
Adel
Member
9 years ago

Pleural Effusion

Hello Everyone. I've been told I am looking at undergoing a pleural infusion.can anyone tell me about their experience with this procedure. I've read some info from Dr Google, which I know I shouldn't have, and it's put the wind up me. Would love to hear some positive stories.
cheers

4 Replies

  • Hi Adel, bc is tough enough without all the side effects, sorry you have to go through this. Inserting the drain will be uncomfortable but I've never had anyone say it was painful. You should be able to breathe easier afterward and hopefully improve your physical activity level once the drain is removed. Let us know how you get on, we'll be thinking of you. Sending you gentle hugs xx
  • Okay...when lots of fluid keeps building up in the pleural space it makes it really difficult to breathe and can collapse the lung. The procedure to drain it is usually done with you sitting up leaning on something. ..so bonus is you won't see anything. You will have a local so shouldn't feel anything more than some pressure and feel relief once they drain it. They may leave a drain in for a few days which is of course uncomfortable but may be necessary. The infusion I don't  know too much about but I know it assists in stopping further effusions occuring. I imagine it would be much less uncomfortable than what you are experiencing presently. Hope it goes well. Kath x
  • Do you mean you have a pleural effusion and will undergo drainage or are you looking at chemo going into pleural space?