Three lung cancers removed during teaching session at City of Health

Three lung cancer surgeries, two upper lung lobectomies (a procedure where the lobe containing the tumor is completely removed) among other endovascular operations, were performed during a medical teaching session at the Ciudad de la Salud (City of Health)of the Social Security Fund (CSS), on Saturday, April 29. During the teaching day, specialists from the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica and Spain participated as observers and their presence elevates the Cardiovascular and Thoracic Institute of the CSS.

In a press release, Marcos Fletcher, a cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon, explained that they attended two procedures, including laparoscopy and the open technique. Fletcher said that laparoscopy it is minimally invasive and allows for a quick recovery, with less discomfort and pain. With this procedure, he indicated that half of the lung that contains cancer is resected and the lymph nodes are removed from the mediastinum; while with the open technique, they make a smaller incision than usual, they resect the tumor that comprises a third of the lung, being more complicated and with a slower recovery.

Patients with minimally invasive surgeries spend one day in the intensive care unit and the next day they are transferred to the ward and after 48 hours of medical surveillance they are discharged. In contrast, those with open surgery spend an average of 4 to 5 days in the hospital. “Being cancer that is detected early, the survival and quality of the person increase, giving them the opportunity to be a curative procedure,” said Fletcher.