What are some common surgical procedures used to diagnose lung cancer?

What are some common surgical procedures used to diagnose lung cancer?

There are two surgical procedures that are currently used to diagnose lung cancer. Mediastinoscopy is an outpatient procedure, where an incision is made at the base of the neck, and lymph nodes in the center of the chest, called the mediastinum, are sampled, and sometimes a diagnosis of lung cancer can be made this way. The other route is called thoracoscopy, or Video Assisted Thoracic Surgery, which is often referred to as Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery (VATS) surgery. This is a minimally invasive surgery where small incisions are made in the side or towards the back of your chest, and the lung tissue or the lung nodule itself is actually biopsied itself, and a diagnosis of lung cancer can be made by that route as well.