Thoracic surgery focuses on diseases of the thorax (chest), including lung disease and other conditions.
Either of two main branches of the trachea, leading directly to the lungs.
A thin membrane that envelops each lung and folds back to make a lining for the chest cavity.
The membranous sac filled with fluid that encloses the heart and roots of the aorta and other large blood vessels.
A muscular membrane partition separating the abdominal and thoracic cavities that functions in respiration.
A pneumonectomy is a surgical procedure to remove a lung. The most common reason for a pneumonectomy is to remove tumerous tissue as a result of lung cancer. The traditional pneumonectomy procedure removes the diseased lung. An extrapleural pneumonectomy also removes sections of the membranes covering the heart and lining the chest as well as a portion of the diaphragm.
This is an inpatient procedure performed using general anesthesia. In a traditional pneumonectomy, the surgeon will open the side of the chest where the diseased lung is located, and may remove part of a rib in order to better view and remove the lung. The surgeon will then collapse the diseased lung, tie off the major blood vessels, clamp and cut the main bronchus to prevent fluid from entering the air passage then remove the lung. The surgeon will insert a temporary drainage tube to draw air, fluid and blood from the surgical cavity before closing the incision.
You will be in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) for a few days or until your doctor determines you are well enough to be moved to a regular hospital room. In addition to the chest tube, you may be on a respirator for at least 24 hours after the operation. You may be fed and medicated intravenously, and will be encouraged to walk to prevent clots as well as cough to clear lung secretions. You may be in the hospital for 10 days or more, and recovery will be slow while the remaining lung takes over for the removed one.
In an extrapleural pneumonectomy, the diseased lung is removed, the pleura is cut away from the chest wall, and parts of the pericardium and diaphragm on the affected side of the chest are removed as well. The recovery procedures for this operation are similar to the traditional pneumonectomy, but the recovery time may be longer.