During pleurodesis, your doctor will give you anesthetic to numb the affected area and sedation to help you relax. There are two different ways to do the procedure, surgical and chemical. With surgical pleurodesis, your doctor makes an incision in your chest wall and inserts a plastic tube into the chest cavity. Then, an irritating chemical is sprayed around your lungs. The lining of the lung (pleura) will adhere tightly to the chest wall and prevent fluid from collecting around your lung. The incision will be closed with stitches. With chemical pleurodesis, your doctor injects medication into your chest.