pulmonary disorders
Mediastinoscopy and Mediastinotomy
Procedure for Mediastinoscopy and Mediastinotomy
Mediastinoscopy and mediastinotomy are done by surgeons in an operating room using general anesthesia. Formediastinoscopy,an incision is made in the suprasternal notch, and the soft tissue of the neck is bluntly dissected down to the trachea and distally to the carina. A mediastinoscope is inserted into the space, allowing access to the paratracheal, tracheobronchial, azygous, and subcarinal nodes and to the superior posterior mediastinum. Anterior mediastinotomy(the Chamberlain procedure) is surgical entry to the mediastinum through an incision in the parasternal 2nd left intercostal space, allowing access to anterior mediastinal and aortopulmonary window lymph nodes, common sites of metastases for left upper lobe lung cancers. 