Procedure and Surgery Terms

Stripping out a lining so the lung sticks to the chest wall, which is the aim: a space that can no longer refill.

Pleurodesis is a procedure that deliberately inflames the pleura to fuse its two layers together, preventing recurrent fluid buildup around the lung.

Taking a whole lung leaves a space the body must fill, and that space is what separates the operation from smaller lung resections.

A polypectomy removes a polyp, most often during an endoscopic procedure such as a colonoscopy, to treat or evaluate an abnormal growth.

Surgery to reduce the risk of developing breast cancer by removing one or both breasts before disease develops.

Breast removal chosen before any cancer exists, lowering risk sharply while never quite reducing it to zero.

Surgery intended to reduce the risk of ovarian cancer by removing the ovaries before disease develops.

Surgery to remove an organ or gland that shows no signs of cancer, in an attempt to prevent development of cancer of that organ or gland.

Prostatectomy ranges from removing a small portion of prostate tissue to complete gland removal, most often to treat cancer or severe enlargement.

Surgery to remove the bladder (the organ that holds urine) and the prostate.

PTC uses a needle placed through the liver to inject contrast and x-ray the bile ducts, most often to locate a blockage.

A procedure to drain bile to relieve pressure in the bile ducts caused by a blockage.

Surgical removal of the region of the breast (approximately one quarter) containing cancer.

A type of external radiation therapy that uses special equipment to position the patient and precisely give a single large dose of radiation to a tumor.

An operation that removes the bladder entirely, along with neighboring organs, and requires a new route built for urine to leave.

Surgery to remove the uterus, cervix, and part of the vagina.

Surgery to remove a tumor and a large amount of normal tissue surrounding it.

A surgical procedure to remove most or all of the lymph nodes that drain lymph from the area around a tumor.

Surgery for breast cancer in which the breast, chest muscles, and all of the lymph nodes under the arm are removed.

Taking the whole kidney out inside its fatty envelope, an operation now kept for tumors too large or awkward to cut around.