Mediastinal Surgery Program

Overview

The Mediastinal Surgery Program within Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s Thoracic Surgery Department provides diagnostic and surgical services for conditions affecting the various organs in the chest.

The mediastinum is the space within your chest that contains and protects your heart, esophagus, trachea and other important organs, structures and major blood vessels.

Our mediastinal experts diagnose, manage and treat a range of conditions that can affect the organs and tissues in the mediastinum. This includes both benign and malignant mediastinal conditions, such as thymomas, cysts, thymic disorders, and other mediastinal masses.

Our team utilizes advanced imaging and minimally invasive techniques, such as video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) and robotic thoracic surgery, to treat mediastinal conditions. With a multidisciplinary approach to care, we provide personalized treatment plans to achieve the best outcomes.

What We Treat

Thymoma
Thymic carcinoma
Myasthenia Gravis
Congenital lesions
Esophageal tumors
Lymphoma
Germ cell tumor
Goiter
Pericardial cyst
Thymic cysts
Tracheal tumors
Thyroid tumors

Diagnosis & Treatment

Diagnosis of Mediastinal Conditions

You will be seen by specialists from the Mediastinal Surgery Program if you have been diagnosed with a mediastinal condition that requires surgical treatment.

Mediastinal conditions are often discovered during chest imaging. Additional testing, such as blood tests, a biopsy, and further imaging tests such as computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) scan, may be performed to confirm a diagnosis.

Surgical Treatment of Mediastinal Conditions

Surgical treatment of mediastinal conditions will depend on the condition diagnosed, your symptoms and whether it is malignant (cancerous).

Surgery is the most common treatment of mediastinal masses and aims to remove the mass if it is cancerous, if it is pressing on other organs, or if it is causing symptoms.

Sternotomy: This is a traditional, open surgery that involves making a vertical incision through the breastbone (sternum) to access the front of the mediastinum.

Thymectomy: This refers to the surgical removal of the thymus gland, and it is a procedure commonly used to remove tumors such as thymomas and other thymic tumors. The tumor may be accessed via a sternotomy or via minimally invasive approaches such as VATS.

Video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS): A minimally invasive procedure that involves making small incisions in the chest. A tiny camera and specialized instruments are then inserted to view the chest. Small thymomas can be removed via VATS, and it offers less pain and faster recovery than a sternotomy.

Robotic thymectomy (RATS): This procedure is similar to VATS but offers increased control and precision of surgical instruments as they are connected to a robot which the surgeon controls via a consol.

Thoracotomy: During this procedure, the mediastinum is accessed via an incision in the side of your chest, usually between the ribs.