You would need a thoracoscopy to look at an abnormal area seen on an imaging test (such as a chest x-ray or CT scan).
You may also need a thoracoscopy to take biopsy samples of lymph nodes, abnormal lung tissue, the chest wall or the lining of your lung.
A thoracoscopy is most commonly used in people with lung cancer and mesothelioma.
A thoracoscopy is not painful at all because you'll be given anesthesia before the thoracoscopy procedure.
However after the thoracoscopy you may feel some pain at the incisions which you can take some pain medicine for.
The position that a patient is in for a thoracoscopy is in the lateral decubitus position with the involved side facing up.
The length of time it takes to do a thoracoscopy is around 45 minutes and involves making a hole in the chest wall and then inserting a telescope into the hole.
The doctor will also inject a local anesthetic into the area where they will make the hole and will use an instrument called an introducer to insert the thoracoscopy telescope into the hole.
The Thoracoscopy is done in order to look at an abnormal area seen on an imaging test (such as a chest x-ray or CT scan).
A Thoracoscopy also can be used to take biopsy samples of lymph nodes, abnormal lung tissue, the chest wall, or the lining of the lung (pleura).
It is commonly used for people with mesothelioma and lung cancer.
A Thoracoscopy is a medical procedure involving internal examination, biopsy and/or resection/drainage of disease or masses within the pleural cavity, usually with video assistance.
The Thoracoscopy may be performed either under general anaesthesia or under sedation with local anaesthetic.
Thoracoscopy is a medical procedure a doctor uses in order to look at the space inside the chest (outside of the lungs).
This is done with a thoracoscope, a thin, flexible tube with a light and a small video camera on the end.
The tube is put in through a small cut made near the lower end of the shoulder blade between the ribs.
Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) is a minimally invasive surgical technique used to diagnose and treat problems in your chest.
During a VATS procedure, a tiny camera (thoracoscope) and surgical instruments are inserted into your chest through one or more small incisions in your chest wall.
You can start doing normal activities again within two weeks of your thoracoscopy.
Full recovery usually takes four to six weeks.
Thoracoscopy is indicated in people with undiagnosed exudative pleural effusions despite thoracentesis with or without pleural biopsy (up to 25% of effusions).
Thoracoscopy, preferably video assisted, is traditionally performed by surgeons with the patient under general anesthesia.
Thoracoscopy risks include: Bleeding.
Pneumonia (infection in the lung) Needing to have a thoracotomy, where the chest cavity is opened with a larger cut, because the procedure could not be done with the smaller cut used by thoracoscopy.
Because of the breathing tube, you may be hoarse or have a sore throat the day after your thoracoscopy procedure.
Also, you may have some pain where your provider made incisions.
You can expect to have a tube in your chest for a day or two after your thoracoscopy if your provider took biopsies or drained fluid.