My mother, 86, has had a pacemaker and atrial abulation and is currently being treated for multiple myelom to which her blood work is showing great results! Her problem is that she has had fluid build up in her left lung which was drained 3 months ago, last week and the left lung has refilled again. Doctor says heart problem would cause fluid build up in both lungs, not one. Fluid tested negative for infection, myeloma cells, etc. CAT scan shows no mass in left lung. So, doctor is baffled. Any idea what can cause fluid build up repeatedly in one lung only?
Thanks for your question on Chat Doctor. There are many causes for pleural effusion in your mother. Like1. Infection like TB2. Congestive heart failure.3. Hypoproteinemia4. Pleural spread of myeloma. Etc. And cardiac effusion can occur on one side. So it OS not rule of thumb that cardiac effusion is dilator only. In rare cases isolated cardiac effusion can be seen. Infection like TB appears more. Low protein level can also be the cause. So get done protein level.