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VATS
Lobectomy
Two
December
21, 2008 |
Video assisted
thorascopic surgery is
what cardiothoracic
surgeon Dr. Paul DiGorgi
uses to remove small
sections of a cancerous
or diseased lung. The
minimally invasive
technology has been
around for several years
but has just recently
been adapted to lung
surgery. He says, “I
enjoy it because the
patients do so much
better the difference is
really impressive. I
mean you can see from
the moment they wake up
from surgery their
breathing better and are
in much less pain and
they’re out of the
hospital a lot faster
and they just do much
better. Complication
rates, especially
pneumonia are half what
they used to be because
patients can take a deep
breath now and they’re
not splinting with a lot
of pain.” The reduced
pain and recovery time
also means that more
people will be able to
qualify for lung
surgery. “The biggest
groups that have
benefited from this are
the younger, healthier
people who want to get
back to work quickly and
the older, sicker
patients who wouldn’t
have been a surgical
candidate in the first
place.” Dr. DiGiorgi
says with the VATS
lobectomy many patients
are able to by-pass the
intensive care unit and
about 90% of them are
able to get back to work
within two weeks of the
procedure. In many
cases surgical
re-sectioning or a
lobectomy is often the
best chance at a cure
for patients with the
early stages of lung
cancer.
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