Mesothelioma Surgery

If you are diagnosed with mesothelioma, you may be
able to have one of many different types of surgery to
help out in different ways.

There are various procedures that you may have to
undergo and they can usually be classified in three
ways.

There are diagnostic procedures, palliative
procedures, and curative procedures.

Diagnostic procedures are basically the step after you
are suspected to have mesothelioma and you have fluid
buildup or what could be a tumor growing in either the
inner or outer lining of your lungs.

A common procedure is called a thoracoscopy. This
procedure is used to get an absolute diagnosis and
sometimes to check how large a tumor may be.

Video-assisted thoracic surgery is also an option
while in the diagnostic stage. A small camera is
inserted into the chest so the pathologist can get a
good look at what is going on and also get a sample of
tissues.

Palliative surgery is intended to treat one or more
symptoms of mesothelioma but doesn't actually stop the
progression of the disease. A chest tube to drain
excess fluid build-up is one of the first symptoms and
can be persistent. Occasionally, a small catheter may
be used for continuous drainage.

Curative procedures, though not 100% effective, seek
to eliminate the entire tumor and hopefully cure the
disease without using chemotherapy or radiation. If
the tumor can't be removed, sometimes the entire lung
may have to be excised. This is called pneumonectomy.
This procedure is also used in peritoneal mesothelioma
also.