Thoracentesis
Who remembers when you used to do a thoracentesis at the bedside? Nobody used ultrasound guidance! We did physical exam in those days and then we checked a chest xray afterwards to make sure we hadn’t caused a pneumothorax.
Get our awesome newsletter by signing up here. We don’t give your email out and we don’t spam you.
I did these at the bedside as a medical student and a resident. They long ago became interventional radiology procedures. My dad has had 3 as an outpatient, each time it burns most of a day and keeps him in same day 2 hours (minimum) before it even gets done….not so sure it’s better
My Dad was an old school Internist. He “subspecialized” in all medicine. Not only did he used to do thoracentisis at the bedside, he also put in pacemakers at the bedside. I helped him as a med student and intern. He would drain ascites at the bedside and also did bronchoscopies, upper endoscopies, and some colonoscopies. He put in central lines and art lines too. Hell, you’d need about as dozen consults today to get done what he used to do. He practiced 45 years until he was about 74.