Surgery for Mediastinal Diseases
Penn thoracic surgeons evaluate and treat a
high volume and wide variety of mediastinal diseases.
Since many of these lesions are benign, minimally
invasive approaches can often be utilized. In
the posterior mediastinum, thoracoscopic approaches
can be used to resect most neurogenic tumors,
bronchogenic cysts, and foregut duplication cysts.
In the anterior mediastinum, Penn surgeons have
by far the largest experience in the world using
transcervical thymectomy for myasthenia gravis.
More extensive resections are often required
for thymomas, and Penn also has broad experience
managing thymic carcinomas in a multi-modality
setting.
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Penn surgeons have
by far the largest experience in the
world using transcervical thymectomy
for myasthenia gravis.
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Encapsulated, early stage thymomas can often be cured by
surgery alone, and complete resection remains the mainstay of
treatment. Advanced thymic tumors are optimally approached in
a multi-modality setting. We have developed treatment paradigms
appropriate to approach even the most aggressive thymic tumors,
providing the best possible hope for a cure.
The extensive experience of the Penn thoracic surgical group
with thymic tumors permits a unique perspective on other malignancies of the mediastinum, ranging
from lymphomas to mediastinal germ cell
tumors. Prompt and accurate pathologic
diagnosis is the essence of successful therapy
in these diseases, and Penn surgeons are
experienced in all of the techniques to biopsy mediastinal masses.
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