A local anaesthetic thoracoscopy is a way of examining the inside of your chest with a special camera called a thoracoscope. This allows the doctors to learn more about your illness and the cause of the fluid or air in the chest.
The doctor can also take small samples (called biopsies) from the inside of the chest and drain any fluid that has collected there. Sometimes a simple procedure called talc pleurodesis can be done to stop the collection of fluid or air in the future.