For patients who are in the process of being diagnosed or have just been diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, surgery is typically one of the standard treatment options doctors will want to consider.
Depending on your health and the stage of your cancer, mesothelioma surgery may be used to prolong your life, prevent symptoms or ease your pain.
Typically, surgeries are divided into three types:
Diagnostic Surgeries: As soon as a doctor suspects a person is showing symptoms of mesothelioma, diagnostic surgery techniques may be used to explore the chest or abdominal cavities to check for definitive signs of the cancer.
Some examples of diagnostic surgeries for mesothelioma are thoracoscopy, laparoscopy, thoracotomy and laparotomy. A biopsy is usually done during this surgery to test for mesothelioma cells.
Potentially Curative Surgeries: Mesothelioma has a complex growth pattern that makes complete surgical removal a very difficult task, which is why surgery that aims to remove all cancer cells is more accurately described as “potentially curative” rather than “curative.”
Part of what makes cancer such a stubborn illness is that it’s very difficult for surgeons to remove all cancer cells, and any cells that are left behind can grow, divide and lead to the cancer’s return.
To try to prevent this from happening, the surgeon removes as much tissue as the patient can safely tolerate. More extreme surgeries attempt to remove visible cancerous tissue as well as tissue that is a likely site for metastasis.
Some examples of potentially curative surgeries for mesothelioma are extrapleural pneumonectomy and pleurectomy/decortication.
Palliative Surgeries: Not all patients are healthy enough for very invasive mesothelioma surgeries. And sometimes the cancer is too widespread to be removed completely.
In these instances, “palliative surgery” — or surgery meant to ease cancer symptoms — may be performed. Palliative mesothelioma surgery can ease a person’s pain and improve the quality of life.
Some examples of palliative surgeries for mesothelioma are pleurocentesis, paracentesis and pleurodesis.
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