Overview
Two common ways to do surgery on your lungs are thoracotomy and video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS).
Your surgeon would make several small surgical cuts over your chest wall. A videoscope (a tube with a tiny camera on the end) and other small tools will be passed through these cuts.
Then, your surgeon may remove part or all of your lung, drain fluid or blood that has built up, or do other procedures. One or more tubes will be placed into your chest to drain fluids that build up. This procedure leads to much less pain and a faster recovery than open lung surgery.