Mesothelioma surgery
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Mesothelioma Microchapters |
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Diagnosis |
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Treatment |
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Case Studies |
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Mesothelioma surgery On the Web |
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American Roentgen Ray Society Images of Mesothelioma surgery |
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1][{AE}}Parminder Dhingra, M.D. [2]
Overview
Surgery
- Surgery, either by itself or used in combination with pre- and post-operative adjuvant therapies has proved disappointing.
- A pleurectomy/decortication is the most common surgery, in which the lining of the chest is removed.
- Less common is an extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP), in which the lung, lining of the inside of the chest, the hemi-diaphragm and the pericardium are removed.
- It is not possible to remove the entire mesothelium without killing the patient.
- Pleurodesis and pleurectomy can be used to manage bothersome effusions
- Radical pneumonectomy with removal of the lung, pleura, pericardium, phrenic nerve and the hemidiaphragm has an almost 35% operative mortality, but with adjuvant chemotherapy and radiation may prolong survival and palliate severe dyspnea
- Median survival increased from 16 to 24 months