If pleural effusion is making it hard to breathe, your provider can remove some of the fluid to make you more comfortable. If cancer may be causing pleural effusion, your provider can test your pleural fluid for cancer cells. Tests on your pleural fluid can help find the cause of infection. If your healthcare provider thinks you have an infectious disease (like a bacterial infection) that’s causing pleural effusion, they’ll remove some fluid for testing. Common reasons to have thoracentesis done include: Thoracentesis is done either to relieve your symptoms or to test the fluid around your lungs (or both). If you have a pleural effusion, you may need to have thoracentesis done to look for the cause or to make you more comfortable. ![]() ![]() Recovery time for minimally invasive procedures is short and risks are much lower than for major surgery. Thoracentesis is minimally invasive, which means your provider doesn’t have to make large cuts in your tissue. No, thoracentesis isn’t considered a major surgery. It’s placed by a surgeon, pulmonologist or radiologist. A chest tube, or a smaller drain with a curled end (pigtail catheter), stays inside your chest and drains fluid or air over a few days. Thoracentesis drains fluid from your chest during the procedure, which usually lasts about 15 minutes. What’s the difference between a thoracentesis and a chest tube? Thoracentesis removes fluid from your chest and paracentesis removes fluid from your abdomen. Thoracentesis and paracentesis both remove extra fluid from your body. What’s the difference between thoracentesis and paracentesis? Healthcare providers use thoracentesis to test the fluid for diseases or to relieve symptoms. Some medical conditions and diseases cause fluid to leak into the pleural space ( pleural effusion), which makes it hard to breathe. Just like a hinge needs oil to help the door move smoothly, your lungs need pleural fluid to help you breathe. A small amount of fluid between these two layers helps them move smoothly past each other when your lungs get bigger and smaller as you breathe. Your lungs and chest wall are both lined with a thin layer called pleura. ![]() The pleural space is the area outside your lungs but inside your chest wall. Thoracentesis is a procedure that takes fluid out from around your lungs (pleural space).
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