Q: What is a mediastinoscopy?
A: The mediastinum is in the center of the chest, around the lower part of the windpipe where many lymph glands reside. It is important to test these lymph nodes for cancer cells prior to lung cancer surgery.
If the mediastinal lymph nodes did have cancer cells, it would not be possible to remove all the cancer by surgery alone. In that case surgery would not be the most effective treatment and could do more harm than good. That is why surgeons sometimes perform a mediastinoscopy prior to lung cancer surgery.
CT Scans and PET scans can help to determine if there are larger lymph nodes that should be biopsied. The mediastinoscopy may be performed as part of the surgical procedure or it may be done some days prior to the lung cancer operation.
A mediastinoscopy is done under general anesthesia and requires a recovery time prior to discharge. After you are prepped and medicated, a small cut is made through the skin at the base of the neck and a small tube is passed into the chest through the cut.
The physician is able to look at the mediastinal tissue and can take samples of nodes and tissue to test for cancer cells. The tube is then removed and the cut is sewn up.
The anesthesia used in surgery may leave you sleepy, so you should have someone drive you home after the procedure.
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