Doctors at Brisbane’s Prince Charles Hospital are washing out the lungs of silicosis victims in an effort to stop the condition, which is caused by the inhalation and buildup of silica dust.
The procedure, known as lung lavage, involves filling one lung with saline solution and draining it and repeating the same on the other lung on the next visit.
Rates of silicosis spiked in recent years with the introduction to Australia of cheap stone, which can be more than 90 per cent silica.