All You Need to Know About Minimally Invasive Surgery for Cancer of the Lung

Surgery is always a part of the treatment options for patients with lung cancer. It is usually administered to patients with stage 1 or 2 lung cancer.  Lung cancer surgery entails removing a section of the lung, also known as lobectomy. A study found that patients who undergo lobectomy live longer compared to when they received radiation therapy or any other operation that was less extensive.

The problem with lobectomy is that muscles can be affected and ribs fractured in the process because doctors have to first perform a thoracotomy in the chest to access the lungs.  That is why researchers have been working tirelessly to find ways to perform minimally invasive surgeries for lung cancer where smaller incisions are used to insert instruments and video cameras. The surgeon uses the visual feedback from the camera to remove the cancerous part of the lung – also known as video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS).

Here's what you should know about minimally invasive procedures:

·        Minimally invasive surgeries are meant for patients with early-stage lung cancer. Stage 3 patients can also undergo the minimally invasive approach.

·        There is an increase in robotic surgery which is a form of minimally invasive surgery where a surgeon uses remote robotic equipment.

·        The type of surgery is less painful, with very few complications, especially in high-risk patients such as those with heart disease, emphysema, and older patients. In addition, patients who go through robotic minimally invasive procedures and VATS have reduced recovery time.

·        Minimally invasive surgery will not work on patients with comorbidities that increase the risk or those who have larger tumors or tumors that are difficult to reach. In this case, open surgery is used instead.

Minimally invasive procedures are very complex and sophisticated operations and must be performed by a properly trained surgeon to reduce risks and complications. Preferable surgeons are those with years of experience specializing in non-heart chest surgeries.
Location: Decatur, TX 76234, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How Does Cancer Treatment Lead to Involuntary Weight Loss?

Involuntary weight loss is evident in most cancer patients. Unfortunately, cancer treatment and symptoms lead to weight loss . Also, nausea, difficulty in swallowing due to radiation therapy, mouth sores because of chemotherapy, and growing tumors all lead to involuntary weight loss.   Involuntary weight loss is common in pancreatic cancers, gastrointestinal cancers, and advanced cancers.   Low-Calorie Intake   The body releases tumor necrosis factor (TNF), which leads to a decline in appetite in cancer patients. Cancer patients have trouble swallowing, and the food develops a metallic taste. Therefore, they do not eat as well, and this affects their weight.   The body uses lots of energy to fight cancer. Considering that the patient doesn’t eat well and uses massive energy to fight the disease, it explains the involuntary weight loss. The high metabolism, pain, and low food intake contribute to unintended weight loss.   Also, patients experience anxiety, depression, and mood
Read more

How to Cope with Fear of Recurrence after Breast Cancer Treatment

The fear of your breast cancer recurring after treatment can impact yours and your loved ones' quality of life. Breakthroughs in breast cancer screening, early diagnosis, and treatment have helped to increase patient survival rates across the world. But still, survivors continue to worry about their disease recurrence. An interdisciplinary team of researchers are examining how the fear of breast cancer recurrence can affect the overall well-being and relationships between patients and their loved ones. The research focuses on three health behaviors influenced by breast cancer recurrence fears and how they can also protect the patient from any future recurrence. The behaviors include quality sleep, physical activity, and taking of therapeutic hormonal medicines. The team is also going to study the sleep quality and physical activity of the patient’s spouse since they are also affected when their loved ones have cancer. According to one of the researchers, the fea
Read more

Understanding Radiology and Radiation Therapy

Both radiation therapy and radiology are essential components of most cancer treatments and diagnoses. The similarity in names can get a patient confused by what each one means or does for them. Cancer care requires a multidisciplinary system with various procedures to address the unique needs of each patient. Radiation therapy and radiology use distinct technologies and techniques to serve different purposes in cancer care as explained below: • Radiology – In cancer care, radiology is a procedure that utilizes medical imaging to diagnose and treat various forms of cancer. One or more imaging tests can be performed on a patient to identify the precise location of the cancer cells or confirm a cancer diagnosis and determine the appropriate treatment plan. Radiologic technologists or radiologists are experts who conduct radiology tests, read and interpret the results. Interventional radiologists can diagnose and treat cancer using minimally invasive procedures such as image-guid
Read more