What is surgical thoracoscopy?
Thoracoscopy is a procedure a doctor uses to look at the space inside the chest (outside of the lungs). This is done with a thoracoscope, a thin, flexible tube with a light and a small video camera on the end. The tube is put in through a small cut made near the lower end of the shoulder blade between the ribs.
What does thoracic surgeon do?
Thoracic surgeons mainly treat lung cancer, lung disease, and diseases in the esophagus and chest wall. Cardiothoracic surgeons, by contrast, operate on more diseases in organs in the chest and in the chest cavity.
How long do you stay in the hospital after lung surgery?
Expect to stay in the hospital for 2 to 7 days after lung cancer surgery. The hospital stay for open surgery is longer than it is for VATS. Lung cancer surgery is a big operation. Once you’re home from the hospital, it can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months for you to fully recover.
What is the recovery time for Thoracic Surgery?
Generally speaking, people will spend at least five to seven days in hospital following an open lobectomy and three to four days following a video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS). Many people are anxious to get out of the hospital and return to their own bed, only to realize that perhaps they shouldn’t have been so anxious to leave.
What are the dangers of lung surgery?
Infection
What is average thoracotomy recovery time?
The thoracotomy wound should heal within 2 months, and the pain will gradually decrease over this time. In some cases, nerves become damaged during surgery. This may cause ongoing pain and is called post-thoracotomy pain syndrome.
What is the recovery time for lung cancer surgery?
Recovering from lung cancer surgery typically takes weeks to months. If the surgery is done through a thoracotomy (a long incision in the chest), the surgeon must spread ribs to get to the lung, so the area near the incision will hurt for some time after surgery. Your activity might be limited for at least a month or two.