CIRUGÍA ONCOLÓGICA

Surgery Oncology

Cancer surgery removes the tumor and the tissue around it during an operation. A doctor who treats cancer with surgery is called a surgical oncologist. Surgery is the oldest type of cancer treatment. And even today it continues to be effective for many types of cancer.

There are many reasons to perform surgery:

To diagnose cancer.
To remove part or all of a cancer.
To find out where the cancer is.
To find out if the cancer has spread or is affecting the functions of other organs in the body.
To recover the appearance or functions of the body.
To alleviate side effects.

Surgery may be done in a doctor's office, clinic, surgery center, or hospital. Where the surgery is performed depends on the type of procedure and the time you need to recover from it.

Inpatient surgery means you need to stay in the hospital overnight or longer to recover after surgery. Outpatient surgery means that you do not need to stay in the hospital overnight before or after surgery.

There are many reasons to perform surgery:

To diagnose cancer.
To remove part or all of a cancer.
To find out where the cancer is.
To find out if the cancer has spread or is affecting the functions of other organs in the body.
To recover the appearance or functions of the body.
To alleviate side effects.

Surgery may be done in a doctor's office, clinic, surgery center, or hospital. Where the surgery is performed depends on the type of procedure and the time you need to recover from it. Inpatient surgery means you need to stay in the hospital overnight or longer to recover after surgery. Outpatient surgery means that you do not need to stay in the hospital overnight before or after surgery.

types of surgery

Diagnosis. Biopsy is the main form of diagnosis for most types of cancer. In a surgical biopsy, the surgeon makes a cut in the skin called a "skin incision." Then, he removes some or all of the suspicious tissue.

There are 2 main types of surgical biopsies:

An incisional biopsy removes a portion of the suspicious surface for study.
An excisional biopsy removes the entire suspicious area, such as a mole or growth.

After a biopsy, a pathologist examines the tissue that was removed under a microscope. A pathologist is a doctor who interprets laboratory tests. He or she also tests cells, tissues, and organs to look for disease. Then, the pathologist delivers un pathology report to the oncologist. The oncologist then reviews the report and diagnoses the tumor.

Determination of the stadium. Staging surgery is used to find out the size of the tumor and if and where the cancer has spread. The doctor also usually removes some lymph nodes near the cancer to see if it has spread. Lymph nodes are tiny, pea-shaped organs that help fight infection.

Your health care team uses the results of this surgery and other tests to guide treatment options. These tests can also help predict a person's prognosis, that is, the chance of recovery. The stage of the cancer may also be included in the pathology report.

Tumor removal, also called curative or primary surgery. Surgery is most often used to remove the tumor and some nearby healthy tissue. The tissue around the tumor is called the margin.

Removal of the tumor may be the only treatment. Or it could be used with other treatments, such as chemotherapy or radiation therapy.

For this type of surgery, the surgeon makes large incisions through the skin, muscle, and, in some cases, bone. Sometimes he or she can use surgical techniques that are less invasive. These techniques may speed recovery and reduce pain after surgery. Learn more about the different types of minimally invasive surgery below.

Mass reduction surgery. Sometimes the surgeon cannot remove the entire tumor. Or the removal could do too much damage to the body. In these cases, surgery is used to remove as much of the tumor as possible. Other treatments, such as radiation therapy or chemotherapy, may also be used to continue cancer treatment. These treatments may also be given before surgery to help shrink the tumor so it can be removed with surgery.

Palliation. Palliative surgery relieves the side effects caused by a tumor. It greatly improves the quality of life for people with advanced cancer or disseminated disease. For example, surgery may be used for the following:

Relieve pain or restore physical function when a tumor causes the following problems:

Pressure on a nerve or spinal cord.
Obstruction of the intestines.
Pressure or obstruction in another part of the body.

Stop the bleeding. Certain types of cancer are more likely to cause bleeding:

Cancer in organs that are delicate and can bleed easily when food and waste passes through the area, such as the esophagus, stomach, and intestines.
Bleeding can also be a side effect of some drugs used to treat cancer. When surgery is necessary to stop bleeding, a technique called transfixion ligation is often used. This surgery joins the blood vessels with surgical sutures.
Cancer in areas with large numbers of blood vessels, such as the uterus.

Insert a feeding tube to administer drugs if the cancer or treatment has made eating difficult. A feeding tube is placed directly into the stomach or intestine through the abdominal wall. Also, could inserting a tube into a vein to give pain relievers or chemotherapy drugs (in English).

Avoid bone fractures. Bones weakened by cancer or cancer treatment can break easily and often heal slowly. Doctors may insert a metal rod to help prevent fractures of weak bones and relieve pain during healing.