Surgery

Lung cancer treatment may involve surgery, radiation and chemotherapy.  Surgery remains the main form of treatment that offers cure for patients with lung cancer. New information has shown that other treatments like chemotherapy and radiation may improve survival rates as well. If a patient is diagnosed early, surgery is often the first approach to management.

Several types of surgery for lung cancer exist, and the type selected is determined best by the surgical team, usually composed of surgeons who specialize in cardio-thoracic surgery.

Wedge resection
A tumor is removed along with normal tissue around it. 

Segmental resection
This type of surgery is similar to the wedge resection, but a larger portion of the diseased lung is removed due to the larger size of the tumor.

Lobectomy
An entire lobe of a lung is removed to ensure complete removal of the tumor.

Pnuemonectomy
An entire lung is removed to ensure the complete removal of the tumor.