Lung Cancer

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Surgery

There are several operations performed for lung cancer treatment, depending upon the type and severity of the disease.

Surgery for Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA) patients is performed at University of Washington Medical Center by thoracic surgeons who are among the best surgeons in the country.

If your lungs are in otherwise good health, you can look forward to returning to normal activities even after a section of a lung or an entire lung is removed. However, if you have other medical problems—such as emphysema or chronic bronchitis, common among heavy smokers—this may complicate your recovery.

Lobectomy

This is a surgical procedure in which a single lobe of the lung is removed. This is the most common lung cancer surgery. 

Pneumonectomy 

In a pneumonectomy, an entire lung is removed. The size or location of your cancer may mean you need this surgery rather than a lobectomy.

Segmentectomy and Wedge Resection 

A segmentectomy, or a wedge resection, is sometimes used to treat lung cancer in people whose lungs are too weak to tolerate the more radical surgeries. In this procedure, only the tumor and a small amount of surrounding lung tissue are removed.

Advanced Surgical Procedures

Some patients have a cancer that is in a challenging location in relation to other important anatomy in the chest. Lung cancers may involve the rib cage, major blood vessels, the main air passages or other structures near the heart. Often patients in these situations will be told that they cannot have surgery or that surgery is too risky. But the thoracic surgeons at SCCA have some of the most extensive experience in the world in removing these more complex lung cancers. 

Some of the procedures performed for these complex cancers are:

  • Sleeve lobectomy
  • Carinal pneumonectomy
  • Vascular reconstruction
  • Chest-wall resection and reconstruction

Video-Assisted Thoracic Surgery

Another option for patients is video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS), which provides a minimally invasive alternative to traditional surgery that may be appropriate for many patients with early-stage cancer.  VATS lobectomy may allow patients to have less pain and a shorter recovery from surgery.