Pleural service
Our pleural service is available at Barnet Hospital and the Royal Free Hospital. We provide:
- portable/bedside pleural ultrasound for diagnosis of pleural effusions (excess fluid in the chest cavity)
- pleurodesis and indwelling pleural catheters (IPCs) for management of persistent pleural effusions
- chest drains for the management of collapsed lung from a pneumothorax (air in the chest cavity)
- pleural biopsies for the investigation of thickened chest cavity lining
- intrapleural fibrinolysis (specialist clot busting medicines applied though the chest drain) for pleural infection
We have award-winning expertise at managing pneumothorax with minimally invasive devices, enabling many patients to be at home rather than needing to stay as in-patients.