Surgery

Comprehensive Care

For many cancers, this may be a cure, especially for those that have not spread to other parts of the body. Most patients will have some sort of cancer surgery. The primary purpose of cancer surgery is to cure your cancer by physically removing all of it from your body. The surgeon usually does this by cutting into your body and removing cancer along with some surrounding tissue to ensure that all of the cancer is removed. Your surgeon may also remove some lymph nodes in the area to determine if the cancer has spread. Certain surgeries such as for prostate and gynecologic cancers may be improved by using robotic equipment.

Robotic Surgery

Robotic surgery with the da Vinci Robotic Surgical System is a computer-assisted tool that offers another way for physicians to perform surgery. It is designed to perform complex operations through incisions that are much smaller and less traumatic allowing surgeons to perform complex prostatectomies and hysterectomies as minimally invasive procedures. Learn more about robotic surgery at FirstHealth.

SAVI Scout Radar Localization

SAVI Scout is a surgical guidance system that makes breast cancer lumpectomy surgery more precise and less painful. It uses a small reflector and radar technology to give surgeons the exact location of lesions, providing a roadmap for them to reach the tumor, remove cancerous cells and better preserve healthy breast tissue.

Biopsy 

A biopsy is a procedure to remove a piece of tissue or a sample of cells from your body so that it can be tested in a laboratory. You may undergo a biopsy if you're experiencing certain signs and symptoms or if your health care provider has identified an area of concern. A biopsy can determine whether you have cancer or another condition. 

Imaging tests, such as CT scans or MRIs, are helpful in detecting masses or irregular tissue, but they alone can't tell the difference between cancerous cells and cells that aren't cancerous. For most cancers, the only way to make a diagnosis is to perform a biopsy to collect cells for closer examination. 

Here's a look at the various types of biopsy procedures used to make a cancer diagnosis. 

Needle biopsy procedures include: 

• Fine-needle aspiration. During fine-needle aspiration, a long, thin needle is inserted into the suspicious area. A syringe is used to draw out fluid and cells for analysis. 
• Core needle biopsy. A larger needle with a cutting tip is used during core needle biopsy to draw a column of tissue out of a suspicious area. 
• Vacuum-assisted biopsy. During vacuum-assisted biopsy, a suction device increases the amount of fluid and cells that is extracted through the needle. This can reduce the number of times the needle must be inserted to collect an adequate sample. 
• Image-guided biopsy. Image-guided biopsy combines an imaging procedure — such as a CT scan, MRI or ultrasound — with a needle biopsy. Image-guided biopsy allows your health care provider to access suspicious areas that can't be felt through the skin, such as on the liver, lung or prostate. Using real-time images, your health care provider can make sure the needle reaches the correct spot. You'll receive a local anesthetic to numb the area being biopsied to minimize the pain. 

Endoscopic biopsy 

During endoscopy, your health care provider uses a thin, flexible tube (endoscope) with a light on the end to see structures inside your body. Special tools are passed through the tube to take a small sample of tissue to be analyzed. 

What type of endoscopic biopsy you undergo depends on where the suspicious area is located. The endoscope can be inserted through your mouth, rectum, urinary tract or a small incision in your skin. 

Examples of endoscopic biopsy procedures include cystoscopy to collect tissue from inside your bladder, bronchoscopy to get tissue from inside your lung and colonoscopy to collect tissue from inside your colon. 

Depending on the type of endoscopic biopsy you undergo, you may receive a sedative or anesthetic before the procedure. 

Surgical biopsy 

Your health care provider may recommend a surgical biopsy if the cells in question can't be accessed with other biopsy procedures or if other biopsy results have been inconclusive. 

During a surgical biopsy, a surgeon makes an incision in your skin to access the suspicious area of cells. Examples of surgical biopsy procedures include surgery to remove a breast lump for a possible breast cancer diagnosis and surgery to remove a lymph node for a possible lymphoma diagnosis. Surgical biopsy procedures can be used to remove part of a suspicious area of cells. Or surgical biopsy may remove all of the cells. 

You may receive local anesthetics to numb the area of the biopsy. Some surgical biopsy procedures require general anesthetics to put you in a sleep-like state. You might need to stay in the hospital after the procedure. 

Biopsy analysis and results 

After your health care provider obtains a tissue sample, it's sent to a laboratory for analysis. The sample may be chemically treated or frozen and sliced into very thin sections. The sections are placed on glass slides, stained to enhance contrast and studied under a microscope. 

The biopsy results help your health care provider determine whether the cells are cancerous. If the cells are cancerous, the results can tell your care provider where the cancer originated — the type of cancer. This information may help guide treatment options.