Pleural disease

Related Services

All services

Locations

Contact

Outpatients appointments
020 3312 7942

Clinic appointments at St Mary's Hospital


020 3311 7198

Clinic appointments at Charing Cross Hospital

Outpatients appointments
020 3312 1836

Procedure appointments at St Mary's Hospital


020 3311 7198

Procedure appointments at Charing Cross Hospital

Advice for GPs
020 3312 7942
General Enquiries
020 3312 1836

Visitor Information

Google translate Translation help:

To translate this page into your preferred language, click the Google Translate icon in the top-right menu and select your desired language.

Visiting

Our pleural disease service is the largest ambulatory pleural service in north west London.

We facilitate the diagnosis and management of patients with pleural disease. 

We offer weekly outpatient clinics as well as performing both diagnostic and therapeutic pleural procedures.

Conditions we treat

Conditions we treat include:

  • benign pleural effusions resistant to medical management
  • malignant pleural effusions
  • unilateral effusions of unknown origin
  • pneumothoraces
  • pleural masses
  • pleural infection

Treatments we offer

Treatments include:

  • drainage of pleural effusions
  • pleural aspiration
  • insertion of indwelling pleural catheters for malignant and occasionally benign effusions
  • pleural biopsy
  • pleural opinion and follow up of pleural disease including pneumothoraces and pleural thickening

Clinics

Pleural clinic at Charing Cross Hospital

Address

Outpatients department
Fifth floor, north wing
Charing Cross Hospital
Fulham Palace Road
London 

Hours 

Wednesday mornings 

Pleural procedures at Charing Cross Hospital

Address

Outpatients department
Fifth floor, north wing
Charing Cross Hospital
Fulham Palace Road
London 

Please wait in front of lung function area

Hours

Tuesday, from 14.00 to 17.00

Contact information at Charing Cross Hospital

Phone: 020 3311 7198
Monday to Friday, 09.00 to 17.00

 

Pleural clinic at St Mary's Hospital

Address

Chest and allergy outpatients
Ground floor
Mint Wing
St Mary’s Hospital
Praed Street
London W2 1NY

Hours 

Friday mornings 

Pleural procedures at St Mary’s Hospital

Address

Endoscopy
Second floor
Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother (QEQM) building
St Mary’s Hospital
Praed Street
London W2 1NY

Hours

Wednesday and Friday from 14.00 to 17.00

Contact information at St Mary's Hospital

Phone: 020 3312 1836 
Monday to Friday, 09.00 to 17.00

Meet the team

Consultants

Dr Clare Ross, respiratory consultant and lead for respiratory intervention 
Dr Rudy Sinharay, respiratory consultant
Dr Carl Reynolds, consultant in respiratory and acute medicine
Dr Mirae Park, locum respiratory medicine consultant

Fellow

Anne O’Mahony

Pleural clinical nurse specialist

Cristina Leal Torrealba

 

Outpatient sister, chest and allergy at St Mary's Hospital

Theslyn Whyte

Patient information

Before your appointment

You should receive a clinic appointment within eight weeks of receipt of your referral. We aim to drain all pleural effusions within seven days of referral.

You are welcome to bring a relative, close friend or carer with you to your appointment or you can ask for a chaperone.

We suggest that you wear comfortable clothing on your upper half that is easy to remove, as it is likely that you will have a clinical examination during your appointment. Please read the patient information leaflets below for more information on how to prepare for your appointment. It is especially important that you read these if you are taking blood-thinning medications.

Please remember to check your appointment letter for anything specific you have been asked to take with you. In addition, it would be helpful if you could bring the following:

  • a list of your medications
  • your full address and telephone number(s)
  • your reading glasses if you need them

If you are having a procedure at St Mary's Hospital, on arrival please go to endoscopy reception, which is on the second floor of the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother (QEQM) building.

If you are having a procedure at Charing Cross Hospital, on arrival please go to 5 North respiratory outpatients, 5th Floor tower block and please wait in the lung function waiting area.

During your appointment

You may have to wait up to an hour for your appointment if a preceding case is delayed or especially difficult.

Your appointment or procedure may take up to 45 minutes.

Please note that we take part in teaching and research, medical students or junior doctors may be present for some appointments. If you do not wish to have them in the room, please let the nurse or doctor know and the students will be asked to step outside. You might be invited to take part in a pleural research study, information will be provided and it will be up to your discretion if you wish to be part of it, your treatment will not be compromised at any moment.

At your clinic appointment, we will take a through medical history and perform an examination. We will also perform a thoracic ultrasound, which is a non-invasive scan but does involve putting some cold jelly on your chest.

At your procedure appointment, we will perform a thoracic ultrasound and the planned procedure. Please read the patient information leaflets below for more information about what to expect during your procedure.

After your appointment

In most cases you will receive a follow-up appointment with a chest doctor in our service or with the doctor who referred you. Results of diagnostic tests will take at least seven days. 

Patient information leaflets

Refer to this service

All new referrals should be sent by a doctor/ healthcare professional and emailed to imperial.pleural@nhs.net

Contact

GPs/ secondary care can contact us for advice/ urgent referrals on:

  • Pleural CNS: 07393003019
  • Pleural Fellow: 07876138418

Monday to Friday: 09.00 – 17.00