Surgical treatment in malignant pleural effusion.

Abstract

Malignant pleural effusion can be described as the presence of exudate in the pleural space, accompanied by the detection of cancer cells in pleural fluid or tissue, which is the indicator of the disease in its advance stages, and survival time of these patients ranges between 3 and 12 months. Treatment options for malignant pleural effusion vary from observation in asymptomatic patients to pleurectomies or even extrapleural pneumonectomies in severe cases.