 |
 |
 |
General Thoracic Surgery
Thoracoscopy, or Video Assisted Thoracic Surgery (VATS), is a minimally invasive (keyhole) surgical procedure. It allows the surgeon to directly examine the chest cavity without a big incision. Three or four small incisions will be made on your chest, under your arm or on your back. These incisions are made to allow the surgeon to use the special instruments (video camera and stapler) needed for this operation. A very small video camera is used to project pictures of the chest cavity onto a screen during the procedure. Although it is an alternative to an open chest operation, it is still considered major surgery.
Mediastinal tumors are masses of abnormal tissue in the midportion of the chest. The area around the heart, esophagus, and trachea may be involved and require chest operations to treat the tumor by removal
Three main types of surgery are used in lung cancer treatment. The choice depends on the size and location of the tumor, the extent of the cancer, the general health of the patient, and other factors. An operation to remove only a small part of the lung is called a segmental or wedge resection. When the surgeon removes an entire lobe of the lung, the procedure is a lobectomy. Pneumonectomy is the removal of an entire lung.
Additional
resources
Disclaimer: This is a list of select sites on
the Internet, which may have additional information on health topics
of interest to you. Sacramento Cardiovascular Surgeons does not sponsor
or endorse any of these sites, nor does SCVS guarantee the accuracy
of the information contained on the sites. These links are provided
for your general information and education only, and should NOT be relied
upon for personal diagnosis or treatment. If you have questions, please
contact your health care provider.
