Mesothelioma Surgery

Surgical Procedures for Diagnosis

The goal of a biopsy is to use the least invasive approach to gain the most information for a diagnosis.  A biopsy can determine if an abnormality is cancer and what kind it may be. The type of cancer impacts the usefulness of each type of biopsy.  For example, some cancers can provide doctors a complete diagnosis from very few cells. Other cancers are more complex and require larger biopsies to provide more information to complete the diagnosis.  Because most mesothelioma is rare and complex, it usually requires a larger biopsy for doctors to feel confident they have a complete diagnosis.

Here are some common types of biopsies that may be discussed with you.  These procedures may occur at the time of your initial diagnosis or throughout your diagnosis to gather more information. 

1.      Fine needle aspiration (FNA) is the simplest biopsy. The procedure involves inserting a thin, hollow needle through the skin to reach the intended biopsy region. It only requires a local anesthetic and is usually quick.  

2.     Core needle biopsy is very similar to a fine needle aspiration, but the size of the needle is larger, so more cells are able to be withdrawn. 

3.     Incisional biopsy is when a surgeon makes an incision to remove a small sample of tissue. 

4.     Thoracoscopy procedure involves undergoing general anesthesia and a surgeon using a camera scope to look inside the chest cavity and take a biopsy from the lung or pleura. This can also include a thoracentesis at the same time, which is removing fluid from the lung cavity. 

5.     Mediastinoscopy involves undergoing general anesthesia and the surgeon sampling lymph nodes in the center of your chest. This is usually after a confirmation of mesothelioma and helps determine the stage of your cancer. 

6.     Laparoscopy procedure also involves general anesthesia and the surgeon uses a camera scope to look for abnormalities perhaps too small to be seen on imaging studies. They can take several biopsies from the abdominal cavity, including the omentum or other organs. This is often paired with peritoneal washings, where the surgeon instills a salt-water solution into the abdomen and then removes the fluid to check for cancer cells. 

Although these invasive procedures do have risks, they offer more tissue  and therefore helpful information used for diagnosis. 

Surgery for Pleural Mesothelioma

Pleural mesothelioma, the cancer of the pleura around the lungs, is the most common type of mesothelioma. Most surgeries to treat it are palliative, not curative. The best chance of curing pleural mesothelioma, in patients who are eligible for it, is to perform an extrapleural pneumonectomy, or EPP. This aggressive surgical procedure involves the removal of the entire lung, along with the pleura, from the side in which the cancer is found. It is a complicated surgery and only certain patients are good candidates for it.

Less extensive and less risky is a pleurectomy, which involves the removal of all of the pleura from one lung. In a radical or extended pleurectomy, other tissues may be removed as well. A debulking surgery is used to remove as much cancerous tissues as possible, but typically does not involve removing all of the pleura.

Surgery for Other Types of Mesothelioma

Debulking is a common type of surgery for patients with peritoneal mesothelioma, the cancer that attacks the lining of the abdominal organs. As with pleural mesothelioma, this can be done to try to cure the cancer if it is in the early stages or as palliative care.

Some patients with this type of mesothelioma may also undergo an omentectomy, surgery to remove the omentum. This is a layer of fatty tissue that covers the abdominal organs. Peritoneal mesothelioma often spreads to this tissue, necessitating its removal.

For pericardial mesothelioma, the cancer of the tissue around the heart, surgery is not common. It is very tricky to try to remove cancer from the pericardium, simply because it is so close to the heart. It can be done, but it is rare. For both pericardial and peritoneal mesothelioma, removal of fluid is a more common procedure to help patients feel more comfortable.

Goals of Surgery

There are several different goals of using surgery as a treatment for any type of mesothelioma, and these vary depending on the patient: to diagnose, to cure, to treat, to manage symptoms, and to slow disease progression. The type of procedure used depends on the stage of the cancer, the location of the cancer, and the overall health and prognosis of the patient.

Radical and aggressive, curative surgeries are only reserved for patients with cancer that has not spread too far and for those who are generally healthy enough to withstand the physical trauma of such a procedure. For other patients, surgeries are used more often as palliative care.

Surgery for any reason is serious and includes risks that can result in complications, ranging from mild to severe. Patients may even die while undergoing surgery, so choosing this kind of treatment should be well informed. Any of these surgeries can result in excessive bleeding, blood clots, infections, and other, more specific complications, including heart problems. Choosing a surgical procedure for mesothelioma should be made together with an experienced medical team and the patient’s closest loved ones.

Page Medically Reviewed and Edited by
Luis Argote-Greene, M.D.

Luis Argote-Greene is an internationally recognized thoracic surgeon. He has trained and worked with some of the most prominently known thoracic surgeons in the United States and Mexico, including pioneering mesothelioma surgeon Dr. David Sugarbaker. He is professionally affiliated with University Hospitals (UH). His areas of interest and expertise are mesothelioma, mediastinal tumors, thoracic malignancies, lung cancer, lung transplantation, esophageal cancer, experimental surgery, and lung volume reduction. Dr. Argote-Greene has also done pioneering work with video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS), as well as robotic assisted minimally invasive surgery. He has taught the procedures to other surgeons both nationally and internationally.

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