Minimally Invasive and Robotic Surgery to Remove Benign Mediastinal Tumors

What is minimally invasive and robotic surgery to remove benign mediastinal tumors?

The mediastinum is the area between your lungs. Very important organs, including your lungs, heart, spine and spinal cord, surround it. In rare cases, cells in the mediastinum will grow out of control into tumors.

Any cell around or in your mediastinum, including lung cells, nerve cells or lymph cells, can grow into a tumor. Many times these tumors are benign, which means they aren't cancerous and don't spread to other parts of your body.

However, it is still important to remove benign mediastinal tumors because if they grow too large, they can affect your heart and lungs. 

Advanced surgery techniques help doctors remove benign mediastinal tumors without hurting the important cells around them. Minimally invasive (or laparoscopic) surgery uses only a few small incisions to allow your doctor to remove tumors.

Minimally invasive surgery to remove benign mediastinal tumors is much safer than older surgeries. You will have less pain, spend less time in the hospital and recover faster than with old surgery methods. You also have less of a risk of bleeding or getting an infection.

During minimally invasive surgery, the doctor makes a few small incisions around the area where your tumor is located. The doctor will fill part of your body with gas so that he or she has more room to work. The surgeon then puts a small camera (laparoscope) into your body so he or she can see inside your body without making a big incision. The doctor then carefully snips the tumor out with specially designed tools. 

New robotic surgery techniques help your doctor perform minimally invasive surgeries. Using robotic technology, your doctor can see all around your tumor in 3D, reach areas he or she normally couldn't reach and move tools in very precise ways. Robotic surgery can be helpful for mediastinal tumors since doctors can be more precise in a very small area around important organs and tissues.

Having an experienced surgeon is critical to getting great results from robotic surgery. Ask your doctor about robotic surgery and how it may help you heal faster.