WHAT IS A PULMONARY LOBECTOMY?
A pulmonary lobectomy is the surgical removal of a cancerous or diseased segment of the lung, rather than the entire organ.
The procedure is done when only a portion of the lung is unhealthy.
When diseased tissue is isolated to just one portion of the lung, it means that it is either pre-cancerous or in the early stages of cancer.
Removing the cancerous, diseased, infected or suspicious portion of a lung prevents whatever is ailing it from spreading to the rest of the organ – or beyond.
Surgeons make an incision, usually starting near the nipple and continuing around to the back, ending under the shoulder blade.
They can then get to the lung between the ribs. Sometimes, a guided camera is used instead, to make the surgery less invasive.
HOW THE LUNGS KEEP WORKING AFTER A PORTION HAS BEEN REMOVED
Each pair of lungs has a total of five lobes – three in the right and two in the left lung.
The lungs have multiple lobes as a sort of fail-safe system so that if one lobe is damaged, the rest can keep on breathing. In modern medicine, this allows the organs to keep working after a portion is removed to stop disease spread.
The lungs are remarkably regenerative.
When one section, or lobe is removed effectively and without complications, the rest of the organ can continue functioning normally.
SURGEONS REMOVED ONE LOBE OF RBG’S LUNG
Just one of the five lobes of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s lungs was removed (or resected) during.
Surgeons cut out the lower of the two lobes of the Justice’s left lung.
When the investigated the removed tissues they found two ‘nodules’ – suspicious lumps of tissue that didn’t match the rest of the organ.
Sometimes these are harmless, or benign. Other times nodules are cancerous, or malignant. Pathologists have to test the tissue after it’s removed to find out.
The two nodules in Justice Ginsburg’s lung were malignant, or cancerous.
But upon inspection of the rest of her lungs, there were no signs of any other nodules or cancers – good news, meaning that they caught the disease very early.
THE RISKS (AND BENEFITS) OF A LUNG LOBECTOMY
Lung lobectomies are invasive surgeries, and the risks and rate of complications vary. Women tend to fare better than men.
The possible complications are considerable. They include:
- Infection
- A pleural space that can lead to lung collapse
- An air leak
- Pus developing in the chest cavity
- Fluid buildup between the lung and chest wall
After surgery, most are dependent on a ventilator for a few day, though some struggle to breath unassisted for longer.
Most of the complications tend to resolve themselves.
But some, like chest pain may linger. About half of patients who undergo lobectomies report lasting aches.
The upside is that between 85 and 95 percent of people who have lobectomies to prevent the spread of cancer survive for at least the following five years.