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Case reports

Pleurovenous shunt for treating refractory benign pleural effusion

Ahmet Sami Bayram^_*, Mustafa Köprücüolu, Mert Aygün, Cengiz Gebitekin

Department of Thoracic Surgery, Medical Faculty of Uludag University, Gorukle-Bursa 16059, Turkey

Received 25 November 2007; received in revised form 24 January 2008; accepted 1 February 2008.

^_* Corresponding author. Tel.: +90 224 2952211; fax: +90 224 4428698. (Email: asbayram2{at}yahoo.com).

We report the case of a 63-year-old female with hepatic cirrhosis due to chronic hepatitis C, successfully treated for refractory nonmalignant hepatic hydrothorax by using a long-term pleurovenous shunt (PVS). After failure of conventional treatment by mechanical pleurodesis, a PVS was inserted to drain the pleural fluid into the right subclavian vein. After 8 months of follow-up, the effusion is well controlled, and the shunt remains patent.

Key Words: Pleural effusion • Shunt • Ascites