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Upper left robotic/VAT lobectomy
I am 76 years old, have a 1.6 cm nodule on my left upper lung and am scheduled for a lobectomy in 3-4 weeks. It cannot be biopsied because it is inaccessible, but my surgeon is 85% sure it is malignant.
I will have a robotic/VAT lobectomy which my surgeon says should take 1-2 hours. He does this surgery 20 times a week. He doubts that my lymph glands are involved, but will check this during the surgery.
I am pretty fit and slim, work out in a gym 2-3 times a week, but more weights than cardio. I have never smoked a single cigarette my entire life. I would love to know realistically how soon I can expect to resume a normal life. I also have rheumatoid arthritis, but am symptom-free.
My surgeon says I will only stay in hospital 1 night and will feel very tired for several weeks and experience "discomfort" but not pain. I will lose 20% lung capacity, but still be able to work out and be active. Is this over-optimistic?
My surgeon also says I will not need any home care. However, I live alone, so wonder if I should get a nurses' aide for the first 1, 2 or more days and nights, as well as for the night in hospital.
Thank you in advance for any tips, advice and shared experiences.
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Very encouraging, thank you.
Sorry to hear this, but on the ups side surgery is the gold standard. There’s a blood
Test that can be done now. Ask the Dr about it. That may ease your mind.
I had a right upper lobectomy in April 2023. Was in the hospital 2 nights. And had someone with me for 7 nights when I got home. I too live alone. My sister stayed with me. Please consider having someone stay with you.
Best of luck to you.
Everything! CARE was day and night in case I needed help
If you're interested, check out YouTube. There's a video of a lower left lobectomy by a surgeon at Memorial Sloan Kettering. The surgery is compressed into an 18 minute video. It illustrates where the cameras and the robotic tools are placed. ( I've not been a member here long enough mouth to post a link.)
Hi @denzie, welcome. I noticed that you wished to post a URL to an video with your post. You will be able to add URLs to your posts in a few days. There is a brief period where new members can't post links. We do this to deter spammers and keep the community safe.
Please allow me to post it for you:
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1 ReactionThank you. I appreciate the reason for that policy. And thank you for sharing that video for the OP.
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1 ReactionI had my upper left lobe removed in 2017 and I think I stayed for 2 or 3 days. I to live alone and I had someone close by if I needed help. I did have pain, but it wasn't unmanageable. The worst for me was having the drainage tube removed, but it's quick and over. My biggest problem was getting out of bed. I have a waterbed and needed to get a topper so I could just roll on out. 🙂
For me though it looked like I was free of cancer, I was not and a year later was staged at lV.
Just make sure biomarker testing is done on your tumor. I happen to have a ROS1 driver and am pretty stable taking my targeted therapy drug.
Best of luck to you!
Cindy
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1 Reaction@cindyjk
Did your Stage IV appear as a new tumor in a different lobe or something else? Thanks
@snorfish
It spread to all of my lobes.
@cindyjk
Oh I'm so sorry. Mine is in my upper left lobe as well. I haven't been formally diagnosed yet but I'm getting referred tomorrow. I just want to be prepared. So had it already spread when you had your lobe removed and they didn't see it in the other lobes? I'm not understanding how it could spread if the whole lobe was gone. I know this is probably tough to talk about it so I understand if you don't want to answer. I'm just really scared and confused about the whole process