Doctors at the Emirates Specialty Hospital will also guide patients on the steps they should take before surgery to reduce downtime and ensure a quicker recovery, including the appropriate food and drink to consume or medication to take and avoid. Experts will instruct you on how to look after wounds, what you can and can’t do immediately after surgery, plus what feelings are normal and what to be concerned about after operations.
Patients who might have a form of thoracic cancer (also known as cardiothoracic), may typically complain of a concerning cough, bringing up blood, chest pain, chest infection or shortness of breath. Symptoms also include a fever or weight loss.
Lung cancer and mesothelioma come under thoracic cancer, the latter describes a disease on the thin tissue lining of the lungs, chest wall, heart, and less commonly the testis and abdomen.
Doctors in our thoracic oncology clinic can look into the matter closely using scans, X-rays, plus minimally invasive robotic and laparoscopic surgery. Laparoscopic surgery is also known as keyhole surgery and is a form of minimally invasive surgery, due to its ability to investigate and treat cancer using only a small incision. It’s favoured for being less painful and with a faster recovery rate compared to other surgeries.
Using video technology, the surgeon is able to work on cutting and sewing techniques via monitors in the surgery room. With this type of surgery, usually, it’s only necessary to make a 0.5-1cm cut as opposed to an incision anywhere between 20cm and 30cm long for open surgery. More room to work inside the body is created by filling the area with gas. The laparoscope device is then safely removed after the operation.
Patients are usually eating, drinking and using mobile phones within 24 hours, out of hospital within a couple of days and can return to work within a few weeks of having laparoscopic surgery for cancer.
Upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract radiography may also be used in collaboration with thoracic surgery. It includes an examination of the esophagus (the food pipe, which passes from the pharynx and is connected to the lungs) to the stomach.
