>>>urban legend ... <
>
>Indeed. I hate to be a killjoy: while dehydration is a common treatment for heart failure and/or some other causes of fluid buildup in the lungs, in this case it needs to be "punctured and drained" which sounds more like a pleural effusion, in which case dehydration from drinking alcohol would not cause overnight resorption.

The medical student I heard this from is today my wife, and she told me the story at the time in a very convincing way (maybe even doctor's name was mentioned - the Institute was a famous place). I seem to recall the puncture was a preparation for some surgery.

Anyway, even in case this really happened, it's my duty as the narator to tweak a few details to make it plausible but with a subtle flow, which will give the pleasure of debunking to any professional. Or else it will never achieve a status of an urban legend :)