Toraks
Thoracic Surgery is a specialised field of medicine within the General Surgery specialty that involves the
treatment of conditions that affect organs within the chest cavity. Thoracic surgeons deal with diseases or injuries
to the structures inside the chest, including lungs, esophagus, chest wall, diaphragm, and mediastinum. This also
means that Thoracic Surgeons usually work very closely with Respiratory Physicians to give patients the best
possible clinical outcome.
Depending on the condition being treated, the surgery may involve removing all or part of the affected organ,
repairing damaged tissue, or removing cancerous growths. Advances in medical technology have made it possible for
thoracic surgery to be done through minimally invasive techniques, such as video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS).
Patients undergoing thoracic surgery can expect to experience some discomfort and pain during the recovery period.
However, with proper pain management and care, most patients can expect to return to their normal activities within
a few weeks.
Thoracic surgery is able to treat a variety of conditions, including but not limited to:
- Lung cancer
- Benign (non-cancerous) growths in the lung
- Benign and malignant (cancerous) tumors found in the mediastinum, an area of the
chest that separates the lungs like thymoma.
- Myasthenia gravis
- thymomatous or non- thymomatous
- A condition that causes excessive sweating that commonly involves one or several
parts of the body, including the hands, feet, underarms, or, less often, the face.
- Tumours in the chest wall
- breast cancer invading chest wall or sarcoma requiring rib resection and
reconstruction with rib plates.
- Tracheal/bronchial stenosis
- narrowing of the windpipe due to tumor/tuberculosis/trauma.
- Tracheal tumor
- Resection and reconstruction of the windpipe blockade due to growth (Benign or
malignant)
- Diaphragmatic eventration/paralysis/hernia
- repair of diaphragm, the thick layer of tissue that separates lungs and gut.
- Oesophageal cancer
- Benign esophageal diseases
- These include achalasia, Barrett's esophagus, GERD, and paraesophageal hernias.
- Lobectomy
- Esophagectomy
- Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery (VATS)
- Minimally invasive surgery using a small camera and specialized instruments for various
thoracic procedures, such as lung biopsy or pleural biopsy.
- Pneumonectomy
- Complete removal of one lung, usually done for extensive lung cancer or other severe
lung conditions.
- Wedge Resection
- Removal of a small, wedge-shaped portion of the lung, typically for the removal of a
small tumor or lesion.
- Mediastinoscopy
- Minimally invasive procedure to examine the mediastinum, often used for staging lung
cancer.
- Thoracoscopy with Biopsy Decortication
- Surgical removal of the fibrous outer layer of the lung, often performed to treat
conditions like pleural effusion or empyema.
- Thoracotomy
- Open-chest surgery involving an incision in the chest wall, performed for various
thoracic conditions, including lung or esophageal surgery.
- Tracheal Resection and Reconstruction