Pleurodesis for mesothelioma patients is a surgical procedure that by the use of a chest tube or a thoracoscopy procedure, the area near the lungs is inflated and pleural effusion in that region is stopped. The pleural space is eliminated and there won’t be any space left for the fluid to build-up, it will just be eliminated through the chest tube.
Pleurodesis surgery methods
Pleurodesis as a mesothelioma treatment has two main types:
- Chemically induced inflammation – first, the chest is drained using the chest tube. A chemical is than introduced in the chest and pleura by the doctor via the same tube. The most used chemical is talc, because it is completely non toxic, and the inflammation of the area is very fast. After staying in the chest for a few hours, the chemical is sucked with the help of a suction device. The entire procedure does not affect any lung, and it usually lasts a few days, because it takes time for the fluid to be completely drained.
- Surgical induced inflammation – with the help of thoracoscopy or thoracotomy. In either case, the pleura are irritated by the use of a pad, and inflammation appears.After that the procedure is similar to the chemical one.
Asbestos cancer causes a lot of symptoms, like trouble breathing or pain in the chest area, symptoms that are greatly reduced after recovering from pleurodesis. The procedure is a little risky, especially the surgical method, because it can cause infection to appear, and infection in that area could be a little hard to contain, apart from that, and if done in a clean environment with sterilized instruments, the patient should recover completely after a few weeks, and should be able to start other methods of treatment associated with mesothelioma.
Doctors do not recommend mesothelioma pleurodesis surgery to patients that already have a small lung capacity, because it may only worsen the symptoms. For that kind of patients, doctors recommend other, less dangerous surgical procedures to lessen the mesothelioma symptoms.
Pleurodesis is a mesothelioma surgical procedure completely covered by health insurance because approved by the Food and Drug Administration, and it can be performed in specialized clinics and cancer centers. When considering surgical pleurodesis, is important to know where and how it would be performed, so make sure that the doctor is a good one and that he uses sterilized instruments.
Get mesothelioma pleurodesis surgery
You may be in need of immediate assistance but not completely informed about mesothelioma pleurodesis surgery. That is why we recommend that you contact asbestosis and mesothelioma centers as soon as possible, we can have all the information you need at your disposal.