Thoracic surgeons at Hamad Medical Corporations (HMC) Heart Hospital have successfully removed a cancerous tumour from the lung of a 61-year-old woman using a new laparoscopic technique.
Senior Consultant, Cardiothoracic Surgery Dr Ehab Massad led the team that performed the surgery and explained it was the first time the new technique has been used at HMC.
"This procedure was completed using one of the most advanced surgical techniques in the world. Historically, a lobectomy required removing a lobe of the lung through a long incision along the side of the chest and also removing surrounding lymph nodes and other abnormal tissue," said Dr Massad.
"While advances in surgical technology and techniques have provided many new options for patients, including performing the procedure by using a camera and special instruments inserted through several small incisions in the chest, this new technique allows us to remove the tumour using a single-hole laparoscopic technique," said Dr Massad.
"We are now treating many early-stage lung cancers with this new procedure. The endoscope and related instrumentation are inserted through a 30-millimetre single incision made between the thoracic cage (rib cage) where the affected area of the lung is accessed.
Using this technique, tumors can be removed with a high degree of precision and minimal damage to the surrounding tissue," added Massad.
Heart Hospital thoracic surgeons removed a cancerous tumour from the lung of an elderly patient
Massad explained that traditional techniques caused immense trauma to the patient, often leading to delayed recovery from surgery and excessive pain.
He said newer techniques provide excellent visualisation of the thorax, allowing the surgery to be performed even in sick and elderly patients.
Thoracic surgery provides services for the surgical treatment of non-cardiac, benign and malignant diseases of the chest.
Last year surgical specialists at HMC's Heart Hospital performed more than 140 thoracic surgeries, 20 of which involved the removal of tumors.
