Patient Guide to Testing - Mediastinoscopy
3. Mediastinoscopy
This procedure involves your physician placing a lighted tube (mediastinoscope) under your upper breastbone (sternum) to obtain a biopsy of the lymph nodes around the windpipe (trachea). This requires being put to sleep with general anesthetic and involves an incision in the fold of your lower neck above the breastbone, This is an outpatient procedure so you will go home within 4-5 hours. Since this procedure involves general anesthetic, you will have an IV and need to have someone else drive you home.
Advantages:
Advantages to a mediastinoscopy include knowing if the results are positive for cancer the day of the procedure. However, the final pathology report will take up to 3-5 working days.
Side effects:
This procedure involves general anesthesia and there is a small risk of bleeding and infection, like pneumonia. Infection and bleeding at the incision site is also a risk.
What to expect after the procedure:
You will have the pain at the incision site for up to 1-2 weeks. You will go home with a small dressing over the incision. You will need to keep the incision site clean and dry for 48 hours, then you may shower. Your sutures are dissolvable so you don't have to worry about having them removed.
What to report to your physician:
- Redness at the incision site.
- Drainage of blood or pus from the incision site
- Fever more than 101 degrees
- Progressive swelling at the incision site
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