Mediastinoscopy with biopsy

This procedure is done in the hospital. You will be given general anesthesia so that you are asleep and do not feel any pain. A tube (endotracheal tube) is placed in your nose or mouth to help you breathe. A small surgical cut is made just above the breastbone. A device called a mediastinoscope is inserted through…

You must sign an informed consent form. You will not be able to have food or fluid for 8 hours before the test.

You will be asleep during the procedure. There will be some tenderness at the site of the procedure afterward. You may have a sore throat. Most people can leave the hospital the next morning. In most cases, the result of the biopsy is ready in 5 to 7 days.

This procedure is done to look at and then biopsy lymph nodes or any other abnormal growths in the front part of the mediastinum, near your chest wall. The most common reason is to see if lung cancer (or another cancer) has spread to these lymph nodes. This is called staging. This procedure is also done for certain…

Biopsies of lymph node tissues are normal and do not show signs of cancer or infection.

Abnormal findings may indicate: Hodgkin disease Lung cancer Lymphoma or other tumors Sarcoidosis The spread of disease from one body part to another Tuberculosis

There is a risk of puncturing the esophagus, trachea, or blood vessels. In some cases, this can lead to bleeding that can be life threatening. To fix the injury, the breastbone would need to be split and the chest opened.

Triplette M, Varghese TK, Cheng G-S. Mediastinal tumors and cysts. In: Broaddus VC, Ernst JD, King TE, et al, eds. Murray and Nadel's Textbook of Respiratory Medicine . 7th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2022:chap 115. Wald O, Izhar U, Sugar baker DJ. Lung chest wall, pleura and mediastinum. In: Townsend CM Jr,…