2017 Volume 31 Issue 5 Pages 616-620
Pleuroperitoneal shunts have been reported to be effective for the management of intractable pleural effusion. We report a patient with bilateral intractable pleural effusion in whom unilateral pleuroperitoneal shunt placement was effective.
A 79-year-old man underwent left lobectomy for lung cancer. Nine months postoperatively, he suffered from bilateral plural effusion due to heart failure and kidney disease, which required frequent thoracentesis. Therapies such as dialysis were ineffective, and his plural effusion worsened. A right pleuroperitoneal shunt was placed under local anesthesia, with 1.5 L of pleural effusion being drained every day from the thoracic to peritoneal cavity. The clinical course was good, and his bilateral pleural effusion, dyspnea, and edema improved.
Our case demonstrates that unilateral pleuroperitoneal shunt placement is useful for bilateral intractable pleural effusion.
