Mediastinal Tumors, A Simple Guide To The Condition, Diagnosis, Treatment And Related Conditions

by Kenneth Kee

Overview

Mediastinal tumors are the tumors that are found in the mediastinum.
The mediastinum is the region in the middle of the chest that splits the lungs into right and left.
Mediastinal tumors are benign or cancerous growths that form in the area of the chest that separates the lungs.
The mediastinum is enveloped by the breastbone in front, the spine at the back, and the lungs on each side.
The mediastinum contains the heart, aorta, esophagus, thymus and trachea.
Mediastinum tumors are mostly made of:
1. Reproductive (germ) cells or develop in
2. Thymic (thymus),
3. Neurogenic (nerve),
4. Lymphatic (lymph) or
5. Mesenchymal (soft) tissue.
Generally, mediastinal tumors are rare.
Mediastinal tumors are normally diagnosed in patients aged 30 to 50 years, but they can develop at any age and form from any tissue that is present in or passes through the chest cavity.
The location of tumors within the mediastinum differs according to the age of the patient.
In children, tumors are often found in the posterior (back) mediastinum.
These mediastinal tumors often begin in the nerves and are normally benign (non-cancerous).
In adults, most mediastinal tumors are located in the anterior (front) mediastinum and are normally malignant (cancerous) lymphomas or thymomas.
Symptoms
Almost 50% of mediastinal tumors cause no symptoms.
Most of the growths are often discovered on a chest x-ray that is done for another reason.
When symptoms are evident they are often a due to pressure on (compression of) local structures, such as the spinal cord, heart or the pericardium (the heart’s lining), and may be:
1. Chest pain
2. Fever and chills
3. Cough
4. Coughing up blood (hemoptysis)
5. Hoarseness
Diagnosis
A medical history and physical examination may show:
1. Fever
2. High-pitched breathing sound (stridor)
3. Swollen or tender lymph nodes (lymphadenopathy)
4. Unintentional weight loss
5. Wheezing
Further tests that may be done are:
1. Chest x-ray
2. Computed tomography (CT) scan of the chest or CT-guided needle biopsy
3. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the chest
4. Mediastinoscopy with biopsy
Mediastinoscopy with biopsy permits doctors to accurately diagnose 80 to 90% of mediastinal tumors, and 95 to 100% of anterior mediastinal tumors
Treatment
The treatment used for mediastinal tumors is dependent on the type of tumor and its location:
Germ cell tumors are normally treated with chemotherapy.
Thymic cancers are treated with surgery.
Types of surgery are thoracoscopy (a minimally invasive approach), mediastinoscopy (minimally invasive) and thoracotomy (a procedure done through an incision in the chest).
Radiation or chemotherapy may be required additionally, dependent on the stage of the tumor and the success of the surgery.
For lymphomas, chemotherapy is the treatment of choice, and may be followed by radiation.
For neurogenic tumors of the posterior mediastinum, surgery is the main treatment.
As compared with traditional surgery, patients who go through minimally invasive surgery, such as video-assisted thoracoscopy (VATS) mediastinoscopy, have:
1. Decreased postoperative pain
2. Shorter hospital stay
3. More rapid recovery and return to work
Other possible advantages are reduced risk of infection and less bleeding.
There are complications in the use of radiation, chemotherapy and surgical treatment of mediastinal tumors.
The possible complications of minimally invasive surgical treatment are:
1. Damage to the surrounding area
2. Pleural effusion
3. Postoperative drainage
4. Postoperative infection or bleeding
The doctors will provide specific instructions to prepare the patient for each treatment or procedure.

TABLE OF CONTENT
Introduction
Chapter 1 Mediastinal Tumors
Chapter 2 Causes
Chapter 3 Symptoms
Chapter 4 Diagnosis
Chapter 5 Treatment
Chapter 6 Prognosis
Chapter 7 Cancer of Lungs
Chapter 8 Lymphoma
Epilogue

Product Details

BN ID:	2940154557778
Publisher:	Kenneth Kee
Publication date:	09/19/2017
Sold by:	Smashwords
Format:	eBook
File size:	136 KB

About the Author

Medical doctor since 1972. Started Kee Clinic in 1974 at 15 Holland Dr #03-102, relocated to 36 Holland Dr #01-10 in 2009. Did my M.Sc (Health Management ) in 1991 and Ph.D (Healthcare Administration) in 1993. Dr Kenneth Kee is still working as a family doctor at the age of 65. However he has reduced his consultation hours to 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon. He first started writing free blogs on medical conditions seen in the clinic in 2007 on http://kennethkee.blogspot.com. His purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of his patients which is also his dissertation for his Ph.D (Healthcare Administration). He then wrote an autobiolographical account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.com. This autobiolographical account “A Family Doctor’s Tale” was combined with his early “A Simple Guide to Medical Conditions” into a new Wordpress Blog “A Family Doctor’s Tale” on http://ken-med.com. From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 550 amazon kindle books and some into Smashwords.com eBooks. He apologized for typos and spelling mistakes in his earlier books. He will endeavor to improve the writing in futures. Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple. For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients. The later books go into more details of medical conditions. The first chapter of all my ebooks is always taken from my blog A Simple Guide to Medical Conditions which was started in 2007 as a simple educational help to my patients on my first blog http://kennethkee.blogspot.com. The medical condition was described simply and direct to the point. Because the simple guide as taken from the blog was described as too simple, I have increased the other chapters to include more detailed description of the illness, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment. As a result there are the complaints by some readers of constant repetitions of the same contents but in detail and fairly up to date. He has published 550 eBooks on various subjects on health, 1 autobiography of his medical journey, another on the autobiography of a Cancer survivor, 2 children stories and one how to study for his nephew and grand-daughter. The purpose of these simple guides is to educate patient on health conditions and not meant as textbooks. He does not do any night duty since 2000 ever since Dr Tan had his second stroke. His clinic is now relocated to the Bouna Vista Community Centre. The 2 units of his original clinic are being demolished to make way for a new Shopping Mall. He is now doing some blogging and internet surfing (bulletin boards since the 1980's) starting with the Apple computer and going to PC. All the PC is upgraded by himself from XT to the present Pentium duo core. The present Intel i7 CPU is out of reach at the moment because the CPU is still expensive. He is also into DIY changing his own toilet cistern and other electric appliance. His hunger for knowledge has not abated and he is a lifelong learner. The children have all grown up and there are 2 grandchildren who are even more technically advanced than the grandfather where mobile phones are concerned. This book is taken from some of the many articles in his blog (now with 740 posts) A Family Doctor’s Tale. Dr Kee is the author of: "A Family Doctor's Tale" "Life Lessons Learned From The Study And Practice Of Medicine" "Case Notes From A Family Doctor"