Two years after Bonnie Borton’s second occurrence of lymphoma, a scan showed some very tiny lesions in her lungs. Borton opted not to have a needle biopsy, a calculated risk that left her not at all surprised when another scan several months later revealed one particularly suspicious tumor. “I knew at the time I was rolling the dice,” she said. And now she was 78, not an age where the body can easily handle the traditional surgical approach to remove tumors from the lung: Long incision, ribs spread, and sometimes broken, muscles split apart, all in a procedure that can mean significant pain and several months of recovery. Borton, however, was offered by her Stanford physicians a minimally invasive option not available until relatively recently, supported by advances in technology and human expertise: a video-assisted lobectomy, or VATS lobectomy. Surgeons would make just three, one to two inch incisions into her torso and, guided by a high grade video camera, remove her tumor. Not only would it be gone, but she’d probably be out of the hospital within a few days and back to her usual activities in a few weeks.

Pneumonectomy: Lung, Lobectomy, Wedge Resection, Tumor, Lung Cancer, Tuberculosis Treatment, Tuberculosis, Incentive Spirometer

High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! A pneumonectomy (or pneumectomy) is a surgical procedure to remove a lung. Removal of just one lobe of the lung is specifically referred to as a lobectomy, and that of a segment of the lung as a wedge resection (or segmentectomy). The most common reason for a pneumonectomy is to remove tumourous tissue arising from lung cancer. In the days prior to the use of antibiotics in tuberculosis treatment, tuberculosis was sometimes treated surgically by pneumo

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There are a number of reasons surgery is performed on the lungs. The most common reason involves cancer. If a mass is identified within the lung tissue, a surgical team will be assigned to remove it. There are a few approaches that can be taken depending on where the mass is located as well as its size. Surgery may also be performed to correct a collapsed lung or to drain fluid that is accumulating nearby.

Today, minimally invasive techniques are used to reduce the likelihood of complications and provide a shorter recovery period for the patient. In this article, we’ll provide an overview of the differences between traditional thoracotomy and minimally invasive lung cancer surgery. While the former is still performed in some circumstances, the latter is becoming increasingly common.

Types Of Surgical Procedures

First, it’s worth reviewing the different operations performed on the lungs. As noted, most surgical procedures are done to cure lung cancer (LC). If the aforementioned mass is small and only found within a tiny portion of tissue, a wedge resection is performed to remove that portion.

In cases where the cancerous cells are detected within a larger portion of tissue, a lobectomy may be done. This is a procedure during which one entire lobe is removed. If it is necessary to remove two adjoining lobes, the procedure is called a bilobectomy.

When the diseased cells have spread throughout the lung, a surgeon will perform a pneumonectomy to remove the entire organ. Its absence will lower the patient’s quality of life, but the patient can live with only one lung.

Minimally Invasive Approaches

Traditionally, lung cancer surgery was performed through an open chest operation (i.e. thoracotomy). A long incision is made into the patient’s side between the ribs. The surgeon then uses a retractor to spread the patient’s ribs in order to provide enough room to work. With the ribs spread apart, the surgeon accesses the site and removes the tumor.

Thoracoscopy can accomplish the same results without the need to make a long incision or spread the ribs. Instead, the surgeon will make several smaller incisions. A thin, tubular instrument called a thoracoscope is outfitted with a video camera and inserted through one of the small incisions. As the surgeon guides the thoracoscope to the affected tissue, the video camera transmits images of the chest cavity back to the surgical team.

Once the site has been identified, other instruments are inserted and guided to the diseased tissue. The portion containing the cancerous cells is cut away and removed.

Differences Between Traditional and Minimally Invasive Surgery

Because thoracotomy is so invasive, patients are exposed to several potential complications. These can include respiratory failure, internal bleeding, pneumonia, and air leaks. Moreover, the patient is forced to cope with intense postoperative pain during recovery.

With minimally invasive lung cancer surgery, the potential for complications is significantly reduced. There is also far less postoperative pain and the recovery period is shortened. It’s not uncommon for patients to be released from the hospital after two or three days following surgery (compared to up to ten days following thoracotomy).

What To Expect After The Operation

After you undergo lung cancer surgery (assuming minimally invasive techniques are used), you will experience some level of tenderness near the incisions. The pain will eventually subside. Within a few days, you will be released to complete your recovery at home. Your doctor will prescribe pain medications to reduce any lingering discomfort. Once you no longer need these medications, you will be able to resume your normal activities. Most patients find they can return to their normal routine after four or five weeks.

Not everyone is a candidate for minimally invasive lung cancer surgery. Your doctor will want to perform a few tests to check whether this form of treatment is appropriate given the staging of the disease and your condition.

Find the right doctor for lung cancer treatments or mitral valve repair. Early diagnosis can lead to successful results.

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Lung cancer may be treated by a variety of therapies which are frequently used in combination to provide an optimal outcome for the patient. Surgical resection is the process by which the tumor is surgically removed, and this is usually recommended when the cancer has not metastasized (or spread) beyond the lung into other parts of the body.

There are several options for performing a resection which may involve minimally invasive surgery or a full operation. Which technique is used will depend on a variety of factors, notably the size and stage of the cancer and whether the tumor can be accessed by the surgeon.

A thoracotomy is performed by the surgeon making an incision through the chest wall and a median sternotomy is performed by entering the chest cavity through the breastbone. Both of these methods are commonly employed in lung cancer surgery but they do involve considerable patient discomfort and extended stays in hospital with a longer recovery period.

Alternative surgical procedures include an anterior limited thoracotomy (ALT) which involves a small incision to allow entry, again through the front of the chest. It should be stressed that the incision is considerably smaller than in a standard thoracotomy or median sternotomy. An alternative is the anterior axillary thoracotomy (AAT) which involves a small incision on the chest front but near the underarm and finally, there is the postero-lateral thoracotomy (PLT) which involves an incision the back or side of the of the patient’s trunk.

Even with these improved surgical techniques, a patient will experience considerable pain if the operation involves opening the chest (sometimes referred to amongst doctors as “chest cracking”).

As a consequence of the extended recovery times and patient discomfort, surgical techniques have been developed which do not involve full-blown surgery – these are the so-called, minimally-invasive techniques.

Video-assisted thoracoscopy (VAT) uses a high powered video camera and hi-definition screen combined with diagnostic scans, such as CT or PET scan, to target the tumors in the patient’s lung. The incision required is much smaller and there is no need to open the chest cavity which results in much less discomfort for the patient and greatly reduced recovery periods. Using the video display, the surgeon is able to resect the tumors which have been identified during the diagnosis and staging phases.

Some doctors do caution the use of VAT however, as a traditional thoracotomy may reveal tumors and other metastasized cancers which have not been discovered in the initial scans and diagnosis. If these remain undiscovered the cancer can return and the patient will become ill again and for this reason, VAT is usually recommended for early stage (I & II) cancers and which have not spread to other parts for the lungs and body.

It is quite usual for any surgical procedure to be accompanied by a phase of chemotherapy or radiation treatment to ensure that the patient’s cancer has been completely removed or killed off. How the treatment proceeds and at what stage a particular therapy will be recommended will be determined by the type and stage of lung cancer a patient has got.

Find the right doctor for lung cancer surgery or mitral valve disease. Early diagnosis can lead to successful results.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Elizabeth_L_Perkins

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When suffering from lung cancer, it is relaxing to know that you have many treatment options, but it can also be overwhelming. It is best to evaluate each treatment option and understand what is going to be involved in each surgery or treatment option. When suffering from lung cancer you major options to choose from are: wedge resection surgery, lobectomy surgery, pneumonectomy surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy.

There are three options for surgery, wedge resection, lobectomy, and pneumonectomy. A wedge resection is most commonly performed, and it is the removal of a small portion of the lung (the cancer portion) along with the tissue around it. This can be performed to diagnose lung cancer or to remove a tumor. During this surgery a wedge shaped part of the lung is removed, the surgeon closes the incision, a chest tube is inserted, and the chest tube is removed later. The risks of the surgery involve the general risks of an anesthetic, the general risks of surgery, and you may have some difficulty breathing after the surgery.

A lobectomy is the removal of a lobe of one lung, and is generally performed to remove tumors and any tissue the cancer has spread to. The size of incision and tissue removed will depend on the extent of your condition. During the surgery the surgeon will stop the lobe’s blood and air supply. The surgeon will remove the lobe, and they most likely will remove a lymph node surrounding the tumor to see how far the cancer has spread; this ensures that the tumor and all of the cancer is removed.

A pneumonectomy is the removal of an entire a lung. It is often used as a last resort for lung cancer because of the seriousness of the operation and the risks after the operation as well. The candidates for this surgery must have good health, strong lung, and strong heart function. They have to be strong enough for the surgery, for recovery, and the heart and lung have to be strong enough to handle an increase load. This surgery is used on lung cancer patients in their early stages before the cancer spreads to surrounding areas. The benefit of this surgery is that by removing the entire lung with cancer, it makes you much less likely to suffer from reoccurring cancer.

In addition to surgery, you may want to consider a drug treatment for cancer called chemotherapy. Chemotherapy uses medications to kill cells that are growing and splitting quickly, which includes cancer cells, and unfortunately hair cells as well. Chemotherapy drugs can be administered through a vein in your arm, or they can be taken orally. Chemotherapy drugs are given with specific patterns and breaks to ensure the best possible outcome. Chemotherapy can be used with surgery, used with radiation, or used by itself.

Radiation is most commonly used in combination with chemotherapy. Radiation therapy is the use of high-powered energy beams that are used to kill cancer cells. They can either be directed at the cancer area from the outside of the body, or they can put needles inside your skin and use the beams through the needles.

A newer method of treating cancer is called targeted drug therapy. There are two different targeted drug therapies recommended for lung cancer. They are Bevacizumab, or Avastin, and Erlotinib, or Tarceva. Also, if you are suffering from a more advanced cancer then you may want to consider clinical trials or supportive care.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Micheal_Horton

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