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Surgery for Lung Cancer
About lung surgery
The most common reason to remove all or a portion of the
lung is to diagnose and treat lung cancer. Any operation in
which we open up the chest cavity is called a
"thoracotomy". Sometimes we have a diagnosis before
the thoracotomy and know what we expect to find. On other
occasions, the operation itself is to find out what an x-ray
abnormality means. Often, we can treat the problem at the same
time. The body has a lot of built in reserve and is usually
able to tolerate removal of all or part of a lung without too
much difficulty.
What is the operation like?
The operation is done with a patient asleep and lying on
their side. The incision goes between the ribs on the side, and
may curve up along the spine in the back. Sometimes it is
necessary to divide or remove part of a rib. If appropriate, all
or a portion of the lung is removed. The size and location of
the lump or tumor determines how much lung has to be removed.
Sometimes a small tumor in a critical location makes removal of
the entire lung necessary.
After the surgery on the lungs
has been done, clear plastic drainage tubes are put in the chest
to drain unwanted fluid and air that may accumulate. The
incision is closed with stitches around the ribs and
muscle, and dissolving stitches in the skin. This
operation takes between two and four hours.
After the operation
Patients routinely go to the recovery room to wake up
after the operation, and then to the intensive care unit.
It is not unusual to stay there for a few days.
A large part of the recovery
revolves around breathing treatments and exercises. These
will help the lungs recover their normal function, and prevent
pneumonia. Most patients are in the hospital about a week if all
goes well.
We are very concerned about our
patients having adequate pain control after the operation.
Whenever possible, we recommend use of an "Epidural
Catheter". This is inserted by the anesthesiologist and
allows him to administer pain medication directly to the spinal
cord and central nervous system. This is best method we have for
pain control, and is very effective. We usually leave the
catheter in for about five days. After that, the pain level is
usually low enough that oral pain medications are
adequate.
At Evergreen Surgical we are very
experienced with this kind of surgery, and have been very pleased
with the rapid recovery of our patients.
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