| Surgery is an important step in confirming | | | | surgery combined with chemotherapy and |
| and knowing the nature of the cancer. It can | | | | radiation gives promising results, it does |
| be conducted on patients with the combination | | | | not guarantee a cure. Researches have shown |
| of adjuvant chemotherapies and radiations, | | | | that patients treated with extrapleural |
| before and after the surgery. | | | | pneumonectomy and therapies have a medium |
| | | | life span of 35 months after the surgery, |
| Pleurectomy: | | | | compared to only 9 months of pleurectomy. |
| | | | Still, some doctors question the surgery for |
| The most common surgery for Mesothelioma | | | | its high risks, which include internal |
| treatment is pleurectomy, in which doctors | | | | bleeding, blood clotting, pneumonia, amassing |
| open the patient's chest and remove the | | | | of pus, respiratory failure and even death. |
| excessive fluid or tumor from the lining of | | | | Thus, many surgeons recommend the idea of |
| the lungs (pleura). Although this procedure | | | | pleurectomy instead of the technically |
| controls the accumulation of fluid and | | | | complicated EPP. |
| decreases pain, it still is not a cure. On | | | | |
| the other hand, if the tumor is in its | | | | Thoracentesis: |
| initial form and has not extensively grown, a | | | | |
| pleurectomy can increase the survival rate of | | | | A minor surgery is often conducted on |
| a patient when combined with chemotherapy and | | | | patients who cannot undergo EPP or |
| radiation. Additionally, a pleurectomy can be | | | | pleurectomy, called thoracentesis. In |
| performed on patients with less-approving | | | | thoracentesis, a thoracic surgeon inserts a |
| health conditions and has lower mortality | | | | needle into a patient's chest to remove the |
| rate than the extrapleural pneumonectomy. | | | | excessive fluid built up in the lining of the |
| | | | lungs (pleura). This method neither cures nor |
| Extrapleural Pneumonectomy (EPP): | | | | decreases the cancer, but rather alleviate |
| | | | the painful symptoms of Mesothelioma. In some |
| Extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) is an | | | | cases, talc or other agents are infused into |
| invasive and severe form of surgery conducted | | | | a patient's chests to scar the chest wall and |
| on patients with Mesothelioma. In this | | | | help them breathe properly without letting |
| treatment, parts of the lungs, the pleura | | | | the tumor to increase, to some extent. |
| (the lining of the lung), the pericardium | | | | |
| (lining of the heart) and the hemi-diaphragm, | | | | Paracentesis: |
| along with the tumor cells, are removed. It | | | | |
| decreases the progression of Mesothelioma, | | | | Paracentesis is a similar method of using a |
| while allowing a patient to breathe smoothly. | | | | needle to extract fluid, but from the |
| It is usually conducted on patients with | | | | abdominal section of the body. It follows the |
| early stages of the cancer and when the tumor | | | | same procedure of extracting fluid from the |
| is in chest cavity. EPP is recommended for | | | | lining of the stomach or other abdominal |
| patients with good heart and lungs | | | | organs. Patients with peritoneal Mesothelioma |
| conditions, in order to endure the severities | | | | can benefit from paracentesis surgery. |
| of the post-operative term. Though the | | | | |