| Before your mesothelioma surgery |
| Wednesday, January 9, 2008 |
Before your surgery you will need to have some tests to make sure you are fit enough to make a good recovery. You will need
You may have had some of these tests while your cancer was being diagnosed. If so, you may not have to have them repeated.
CT and MRI scans are done to see how far the cancer has spread. Your specialist may be able to tell from this test whether it is possible to remove your cancer or not. There is information about having a CT scan and an MRI scan in the about cancer tests section of CancerHelp UK.
A mediastinoscopy is a test to look inside the centre of the chest. This is to see if the mesothelioma has spread into the cavity in the centre of the chest that contains the heart. Doctors call this cavity the mediastinum. This test means an overnight stay in hospital, because you will need a short general anaesthetic. The doctor makes a cut about an inch long at the base of your neck and puts in a 'scope' with an eyepiece or a small camera so they can see inside. The surgeon will take biopsies of the lymph nodes in the mediastinum too. There is a little more information about having a mediastinoscopy in the section on diagnosing mesothelioma.
CT-PET scans are not available everywhere, but they can be useful to see the extent of the mesothelioma, and whether it has spread elsewhere in the body. They combine the features of a CT scan and a PET scan. There is more information on PET scans in the about cancer tests section of CancerHelp UK.
Lung tests are very important before this type of treatment. Your specialist needs to be sure that your lungs are working well enough for you to recover well from your surgery. Lung function tests measure how well your lungs take in oxygen. There are different types of lung function test. The simplest involves you breathing out as hard as you can into a tube attached to a machine. This measures how much air your lungs can take in.
For another type of lung function test, you may have to breathe in a very small amount of radioactive gas. This will not harm you. It just shows up your airways on the scan. The radioactivity involved is very small and goes away within a couple of hours. Lung perfusion tests look at the blood supply to the lungs. This means having a small radioactive injection. Again, this won't harm you. It shows the specialist the blood flowing to your lungs and gives an idea of how important each lung is to your overall breathing capacity. You can have these two tests together - they will take about 20 minutes.
An echocardiogram is a sound test of your heart. It is painless and only takes about half an hour. An echocardiogram will show how strong your heart is, and whether it will cope when you have a lung removed.
Your nurse or physiotherapist will teach you breathing and leg exercises. You can help yourself to get over your operation by doing these exercises regularly after your surgery. You should do them as often as you are told you need to. Breathing exercises will stop you from getting a chest infection. And leg exercises will help to stop clots forming in your legs. Both of these complications of surgery can happen because you are not moving around as much as you normally would be. Your nurses will encourage you to get up and about as soon as possible after your operation. Even though this is major surgery, you will only be in bed for a day or two. Getting you up and about helps to stop you getting a chest infection or blood clots after the operation. These are common complications of any major surgery.
When you go into hospital for your operation, your surgeon, anaesthetist, physiotherapist and nurse will all come to talk to you about what will happen. Your surgeon will explain what is going to be done and what to expect when you come round from the anaesthetic. Do ask as many questions as you need to. It may help to make a list of your questions before you go into hospital for your operation. The more you know about what is going to happen, the less frightening it will seem. Don't worry if you think of more questions later. Just speak to your nurses. If they cannot answer your questions, they can contact the doctor to come and talk to you again.
On the day
On the day of your operation you will not be able to eat or drink. When you change into your theatre gown, your nurse will help you to put on elastic stockings. You may hear these called TED stockings. They will help to stop you from getting clots in your legs after the surgery.
About an hour before your operation is due to start, you will have an injection or be given tablets to take। This is your 'pre-med'. It will make you relaxed and drowsy before you go to theatre.
http://www.cancerhelp.org.uk |
posted by Vick Template @ 2:52 PM  |
|
|
|
|
| About Me |
|
Name: Vick Template
Home: Indonesia
About Me:
See my complete profile
|
| Previous Post |
|
| Archives |
|
| Links |
|
|
| Powered by |
 |
|
