Mesothelioma: Diagnostic Tools

Diagnostic Process
Mesothelioma if suspected after putting the patient through imaging tests needs to be confirmed by pathological tests. Definitive diagnosis is made by the pathologist and report issued after tissue biopsy, that is removing and examining the tissue under the microscope. The attending physician after seeing the pathology report may call for x-ray or CT scan of the chest or abdomen. If the doctor feels it necessary, he may ask the mesothelioma patient to undergo further tests as discussed below.

VATS
Video assisted thoracic surgery or VATS is one of the most potent tools to diagnose mesothelioma patients. This process uses the least invasion to use biopsies of the pleural lining and fluid, nodules and masses. Other therapies for pleural effusion can be used in concurrence with this diagnostic tool. In this method, small incisions are made through the chest wall of the patient kept under general anesthesia. A small camera is inserted into one of the incisions and tissue samples are retrieved by inserting surgical instruments into other incisions. The video images on the screen thrown up by the camera can be used by the surgeon to get detailed diagnosis. VATS method has replaced thoracotomy which requires making larger incision to access the chest cavity. The minimal invasive nature of VATS ensures that pain for the mesothelioma patients is less and recovery is quick.

Thoracoscopy
Thoracoscope is an instrument by which chest cavity can be seen by the doctor for pleural mesothelioma patients. This instrument is inserted through a cut on the chest wall and placed between two ribs in the chest. This test has to be done under pain killer or local anesthesia at a hospital. The accumulated chest fluid in mesothelioma patients are drained out by suction with a needle the process being known as thoracentesis. The instrument peritoneoscope is similarly used in case of abdominal mesothelioma patients the process being called peritoneoscopy.