Mesothelioma Surgery

If you've been afflicted with the horrible cancer known as mesothelioma, you may be considering surgery as a method of restoring yourself to good health. It's perfect normal to think that way, seeing as how surgery is known to be effective for treating many other types of cancer. Since cancerous cells tend to keep growing and multiplying at will until stopped, surgery can work very well by literally removing the cancerous cells from the body.

Before we go any further, let me say up front that under no circumstances should you perform surgery on yourself. While you may be able to save some money that way, don't make the mistake of thinking that your skills are on par with a competent surgeon's. Nothing could be further from the truth. These people go to school for many years to learn enormous amounts of detail about human anatomy.

Yes, but you can look up all the anatomical information you want on the internet, you might say. True, but what you can't get from the internet is the value of experience in performing these surgeries. It's one thing to read about something, and another thing to actually do it. And even if you happen to be well trained in this particular type of surgery, it's much better to get another surgeon to perform the operation so you can be properly sedated during the procedure.

Now, taking this into consideration, what is the prognosis of a proper surgical treatment for mesothelioma? Unfortunately, it's not particularly good. Surgery alone has been fairly unsuccessful at removing the cancerous cells and preventing relapse. But things are actually better than they might appear. Because even though surgery by itself is not especially effective, its effectiveness increases when combined with radiation and chemotherapy.

If you go with mesothelioma surgery, the most common type is a pleurectomy/decortication. In this procedure, the lining of the chest is removed. Yikes! But what did you expect, when the disease is so serious? Other than that, a less commonly performed surgery is an extrapleural pneumonectomy or EPP. This type of operation involves the removal of not just the lining of the chest, but additionally the lung, the hemi-diaphragm, and the pericardium. Obviously, this is much more involved, so a surgeon will only do it when they have a good reason to.

When you discuss your medical situation with your doctor, they will be qualified to advise you on the various treatment options at your disposal. While surgery by itself is not likely to be the most highly recommended course of action, it may be part of a balanced plan that offers the best chances of success.

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