Corel Medical Series: Cancer/Corel Medical Series: Cancer.iso/mac/Program/p05.dxr/00043_Field_SRC.p05.C.5.txt

Text File | 1997-01-28 | 2KB | 19 lines

      There has been a recent explosion in the development of minimally invasive surgery in both the diagnosis and
  treatment of solid malignancies. Videcendoscopic surgery is now frequently used to stage cancers in the
  abdomen (laparoscopy) and the chest cavity (thoracoscopy), and often eliminates the need for a major
  exploration of the abdomen or chest when unsuspected disease is found by these techniques. These procedures
  are most commonly performed under general anesthesia, and involve small incisions, which allow rapid recovery
  and return to normal activity. This technology is rapidly evolving and is under evaluation for the resection of
  some solid tumors.
• To remove the primary tumor  For many cancer patients, removal of the tumor may be the best form of
  treatment. In some cases, surgery might lead to a cure. This form of surgery is referred to as surgery for the
  primary lesion . For this to be possible, the tumor has to be localized in an organ or area of the body that can be
  safely removed.
      This type of surgery generally involves a major operation requiring admission to the hospital, general
  anesthesia and several days for recovery. The surgeon will try to remove the affected organ or area along with
  an adjacent area, called the margin, of normal-looking tissue . This is done because cells and small parts of the
  tumor may extend beyond what the surgeon can see as obvious cancer.
      The lymph glands connected to the organ with the tumor might also be removed, since most tumors spread to
  lymphatic glands quite early. Removing the nodes along with the tumor improves the chance of removing all the
  cancer.