Initial Examination and Diagnostic Findings
The patient was admitted to the hospital complaining of shortness of breath. A physical exam was performed, which revealed no adenopathy, but instead showed that the woman had weaker breathing noises to the right side of her chest. The left side showed no murmurs or foreign sounds.
Functionality of the heart, upon examination, revealed no irregularities. The patient was then admitted to an X-ray, which revealed a large pleural effusion on the right side of her chest. It was concluded that a tumor and some adhesions displaced the patient’s lung.
Surgical Intervention and Postoperative Care
Based on the abovementioned findings, she was made to undergo thoracoscopy, which confirmed the initial diagnosis. Pleural tumor peels and multiple adhesions were discovered and subsequently taken down. A set of chest tubes was placed to sustain the patient for the duration of the operation (Bhatnagar et al., 2020). They remained for four days, after which a talc slurry was introduced through the tubes as part of pleurodesis. After that, the patient was transferred to an extended care facility at the hospital, where she remained until she was capable of traveling and taking care of herself.
Treatment Plan, Prognosis, and Follow-Up
Some of the worries that warranted extended supervision were that the lung fluid may reappear despite the pleurodesis procedure performed (Bhatnagar et al., 2020). In order to prevent that from happening, the patient was also put on a Megace treatment, with an intent of decreasing any pulmonary issues she might develop. Despite our best efforts, however, the prognosis of the patient is poor due to her age, overall physical state, and her lungs condition. At the end of the treatment, she was discharged, with the prescriptions of Tylenol for pain management, Megace for pulmonary symptomatology, and a multivitamin solution for general sustenance and improvement (Bhatnagar et al., 2020). The follow-up X-ray should be scheduled within three weeks.
References
Bhatnagar, R., Piotrowska, H. E., Laskawiec-Szkonter, M., Kahan, B. C., Luengo-Fernandez, R., Pepperell, J. C.,… & Maskell, N. A. (2020). Effect of thoracoscopic talc poudrage vs talc slurry via chest tube on pleurodesis failure rate among patients with malignant pleural effusions: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA, 323(1), 60-69. Web.