What are the Most Common Complications of Mesothelioma Surgery?

What should I expect from my Surgery? What are the most common complications of mesothelioma surgery? Whether you have a pleurectomy – decortication or an EPP, both are major endeavors. The time to recover will differ for every patient, but the time needed to restore the strength and vitality you had generally ranges from between four and six weeks. However, it is not uncommon to experience some discomfort and pain after surgery. At the majority of centers that perform these operations, the patients are provided with an epidural catheter which is placed during the operation.

The catheter is inserted through the spine during the time you sleep, and numbing medications are inserted in the tube.

 This medication will put the entire chest into a state of sleep for a short period following the operation. It is then possible to cough more deeply and breathe with ease, and this can lower the chance of getting an infection or other complications. The epidural catheter stays in place for 3 days before being removed. 

When it’s gone the patient will be switched onto one of the oral (by mouth) prescriptions for narcotic painkillers, which can help control pain.

 You’ll continue to take the pain medication until you’ve been discharged and taken home. As time passes, over the next few weeks, the requirement for pain medication will diminish and you could be able to get off the narcotics and moved on to other types of pain medications that aren’t as potent or may not have to take any pain medicine in the first place. Chest tubes can also be inserted during the surgery. 

These tiny, flexible tubes are present once you are awake and will remain in place for around three days following surgery.

 The reason for them is to remove the air and fluid that has been accumulating in the chest from the operation. It is possible to have a short breath following surgery, and you may require oxygen for a short period of time. The breath will improve with time and the need for oxygen may also diminish as you progress from the operation. 

When pleurectomy/decortications are performed routinely for mesothelioma, few major complications are usually seen.

 In order to allow the lungs to heal after removing the pleura, they could require the chest tubes to stay in longer than normal at times as long as 10 days. The respiratory and pneumonia conditions can occur and are often due to the dimensions of the tumor removed and the lower degree of functioning prior to the surgery. Empyema (the accumulation of pus inside the chest) is not common and is controlled by prolonged chest tube drainage as well as antibiotics. 

Bleeding or hemorrhage that needs doctors opening the chest up in order to determine the cause and treat it is uncommon.

 Because of the extent and size of the operation, an EPP has a higher risk of complications than an open pleurectomy. The most commonly reported complication is an arrhythmia which is typically an irregular, fast heartbeat. The heart is subjected to manipulation in surgery and gets irritated. The treatment for arrhythmias is to start the patient on certain heart medication. 

Patients are typically kept on these drugs for around one month after surgery before they are taken off.

The most common complication that is feared after an EPP occurs when the breathing tube for the lung that was removed is opened and air flows into the chest cavity that is empty. The fluid drains through the opening to the lung that is opposite. This is referred to as a bronchopleural fistula. It may require a follow-up operation to close the hole, or external drainage, with subsequent repair if the issue develops after the original surgery. 

The most frequent sign associated with a bronchopleural fistula is an ongoing cough, so when you notice a cough, make sure you notify your surgeon.

This condition can cause pneumonia, pulmonary failure, and even death. If caught early it can be treated with success. Heart attacks and an enlargement of a clot to the remaining lung through leg veins (pulmonary embolism) are other risks following an EPP. 

In addition, uncommon but serious complications could occur, such as the heartbreaking through an opening in the newly created pericardium (hernia) or the inability of the diaphragm constructed to keep abdominal contents away from the chest (chiefly on the left).

The reconstructions are made using foreign materials, typically Gortex which has a slight possibility that they will be infected and require to be removed. 

The rapid accumulation of fluids in the chest when you begin eating or notice an alteration in the hue of the drainage tube in your chest to a greyish pussy shade could indicate that the lymphatic tube carrying it from the abdomen through the chest is damaged.

If you have EPPs, this could require an additional operation to fix the leak. However, with Pleurectomies, continual drainage and altering of the diet of the patient could permit this to be closed. 

For example, a patient’s recovery from surgery was comparatively pain-free. He was home for six days following the operation and was going for a short walk near our home in less than two weeks. After a few weeks, he returns to his work. He was careful about not exaggerating himself but was glad for the opportunity to resume a regular routine that helped distract him from the diagnosis. 

Empyema – Infected (pus) within the chest that can develop after surgery as a result of mesothelioma surgery.

Hemorrhage – In medicine is the loss of blood due to injured blood vessels.

Hemorrhage can be external or internal, and generally involves a significant amount of bleeding over very short periods of time. 

Arrhythmias – Arrhythmias is any disturbance or deviation in the heart’s normal rhythm.

Bronchopleural Fistula – A complication of extrapleural pneumonectomy where there is a leakage of the air through the bronchial tube that is closed.

A pulmonary embolism is the movement of a clot, typically in the leg, into the heart, resulting in obstruction of the arteries that connect to the lung, which results in sudden shortness of breath. The possible causes for the death and morbidity are operations complications of mesothelioma surgery?