Lung Surgery

When surgery is your best option to remove a tumor, lymph nodes and the sections of the lung that contain the tumor, be assured that at the Ocala Heart Institute you’ll receive the very latest in thoracic surgery. As technology advances by leaps and bounds, so, too, do the techniques used to combat lung diseases and lung disorders. Surgery can be performed at all stages of lung cancer and is often used in combination with chemotherapy and/or radiation.

The Ocala Heart Institute performs thoracic surgery in Florida such as lobectomy (removal of one or more lobes of a lung), wedge resection (removal of part of the lobe of a lung), or pneumonectomy (removal of a lung) in order to repair or remove lung tissue or biopsy an unknown growth or to remove blebs (small balloon-like tissues that cause the lung to collapse). Surgery may also be done when blood or an infection needs to be removed from the chest cavity or decortication, removal of lung membrane.

Best Thoracic Surgeons in Florida

If the tumor is small and located on the outer perimeter of the lung, video assisted thoracic surgery (VATS), a minimally invasive procedure, is employed. Thoracoscopic surgery is not only used to remove tissue damaged by emphysema, bronchiectasis, or cancer or to biopsy unknown tumors/growths, it can treat injuries that cause the lung to collapse, eliminate infection, remove blood or blood clots and stop fluid buildup in the chest cavity (pleurodesis).

Unlike a thoracotomy, which requires a major incision between the ribs just under the armpit from the front of your chest wall to your back, a thorasoscopy (VATS), employs a few small incisions to allow for the surgical instruments and the viewing camera (called “video-scope”) needed by the surgeon. Both surgeries require hospital stays and release will not happen until the patient has recovered to the point that air no longer leaks from the chest tubes that were inserted during surgery to drain fluid and air.

Consult our Florida Cardiovascular Care Doctors

Please contact us when you need answers to heart and lung surgery questions and concerns.