You will need to stay in hospital for 3–7 days.
You will have a few tubes in place when you wake up from the operation, such as a drip and a chest drain. You usually go home after 5 to 10 days.
After the Procedure
Most people stay in the hospital for 5 to 7 days after open thoracotomy. Hospital stay for a video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery is most often shorter. You may spend time in the intensive care unit (ICU) after either surgery.
Lung surgery is typically a major operation that involves general anesthesia and several weeks of recovery, although minimally invasive options exist that can shorten recovery time.
Your Recovery
It is common to feel tired for 6 to 8 weeks after surgery. Your chest may hurt and be swollen for up to 6 weeks. It may ache or feel stiff for up to 3 months. For up to 3 months, you may also feel tightness, itching, numbness, or tingling around the cut (incision) the doctor made.
Surgery for lung cancer is a major operation and can have serious side effects, which is why it isn't a good idea for everyone. While all surgeries carry some risks, these depend to some degree on the extent of the surgery and the person's overall health.
Open lung surgery typically takes between 2 and 6 hours. During VATS, the surgeon makes a few small cuts in your chest. Then, the surgeon inserts small instruments and a camera through those cuts to perform the surgery. VATS typically takes about 2 to 3 hours.
Your surgeon will make a surgical cut between two ribs. The cut will go from the front of your chest wall to your back, passing just underneath the armpit. These ribs will be separated or a rib may be removed. Your lung on this side will be deflated so that air will not move in and out of it during surgery.
Start with short and simple walks, and gradually increase length and intensity. You can walk as much as you like as long as you feel comfortable, and daily walking - if only for a few minutes - is ideal.
The risks of this procedure may include: Infection. Air in the space between the lung covering (pleural space) that causes the lung to collapse (pneumothorax) Bleeding.
A: You may drive when you are off narcotic medication and you have full range of motion of the steering wheel. This could be two to four weeks after surgery.
Some breathlessness is normal after lung surgery. This depends on the type of operation you have had and how fit and well you normally are. If you had breathing problems before the operation, you might still have some problems afterwards.
You can sleep in any position that is comfortable. Some patients need to sleep sitting in an upright position at first. It may be painful to sleep on your side, but it will not hurt your heart or incisions.
While many people regard lung cancer surgery as a means to "cut out the cancer," one of the primary aims of the surgery is to restore or improve the quality of life. And, despite what some may think, people can live normal, active lives even when part or all of a lung is removed.
Conclusion. ICU management of patients with pulmonary lobectomy is required for two main reasons: post-operative setting or acute complications following surgery. Careful pre-operative assessment of patients is mandatory to reduce post-operative morbidity and mortality.
Wear comfortable, clean clothing. Particularly suitable is cotton clothing, especially if drainage is still an issue. Walk as much as you feel able to. Stop when you are short of breath, rest, and then continue.
Radiation can be used before lung cancer surgery to shrink the tumor or after surgery to kill any cancer cells left in the lungs.
Lobectomy is the removal (resection) of the lobe of the lung affected by lung cancer. This is the most commonly performed lung cancer surgery. A bilobectomy is the removal of two lobes and is only done for tumors of the right lung where the tumor involves two adjacent lobes.
A lung tumor is a tumor that occurs in the lung tissue itself or in the airways that lead to the lungs. Lung tumors can be either cancerous (malignant) or benign (non-cancerous).
During a CT scan, the radiologist will mark a nodule by inserting a fiducial, which is then visible during the operation via fluoroscopy. This allows the surgeon to precisely cut out the appropriate wedge of lung tissue containing the nodule.
You can expect to stay 3 to 5 days in the hospital, depending on the type of lobectomy that was performed and whether or not your hospital/surgeon uses an enhanced recovery protocol. Upon discharge, you will be given specific incision care instructions and plans for a follow-up appointment with your surgeon.
Screening for lung cancer can save lives.
For patients who have small, early-stage lung cancer, the cure rate can be as high as 80% to 90%. Cure rates drop dramatically as the tumor becomes more advanced and involves lymph nodes or other parts of the body.
In general, a lung nodule can be removed very safely and using a minimally invasive surgical approach. Your surgeon may want to perform a bronchoscopy to take a closer look at your nodules and take a biopsy. A biopsy involves removing a piece of your lung to look at it under a microscope.
Chest tube removal is considered a painful and debilitating experience for all patients (7). However, there are no standard procedures or guidelines to manage CTR-related pain (17).