Surgery as a treatment option depends on the type and stage of cancer, as well as the overall health of the patient. The surgeon will want to know how well a patient's lung is functioning. This information will tell the surgeon how much lung tissue can be removed and how well the patient can expect to function after surgery.
Most often, a lobectomy-removal of a whole lobe of the lung is the operation performed with the goal to cure lung cancer. Sometimes an entire lung has to be removed in an operation and this is called pneumonectomy. A wedge resection-removal of a section of the lobe with the tumor can be performed if the surgeon doesn't feel a patient can tolerate a lobectomy.
Very often, if lung cancer is suspected, but a biopsy (tissue sample taken for examination) could not be performed prior to surgery, a wedge resection can be performed. The tissue can be sent to the pathologist for examination while the patient is still in surgery. If the pathologist sees that it contains cancer, the surgeon will go on to perform a lobectomy.
When the surgeon removes the tumor, he or she will remove lymph nodes in the chest to determine whether the cancer has spread. This information helps with staging the cancer.
These operations are most often performed through an incision made at the side of the chest between the ribs, sometimes with a small portion of rib being removed. This incision of the chest wall is called a thoracotomy.
Sometimes the lung surgery can be performed via a minimally invasive procedure called thoracoscopy. Three smaller incisions are used.
Your surgeon will discuss any complications that have occurred during or after your surgery. These can include infection, bleeding, and shortness of breath. You can expect to have a fair amount of pain, for which medications will be given to you to help control it.
Very often, a catheter (thin tube) is inserted in your back just prior to the surgery, and is used as a way to give you medication to control the pain while you are in the hospital. This method of pain management is commonly called an epidural.
