When combined, this approach has been termed "complete medical mediastinoscopy."

Some medical testing procedures have health risks, and even require general anesthesia, such as the mediastinoscopy.

In some cases, a more invasive technique is necessary, including tissue biopsy during mediastinoscopy or thoracoscopy.

See a picture of mediastinoscopy .

Instead of waiting for the results of the sputum tests, the consultants carried out a mediastinoscopy to get a biopsy.

Mediastinoscopy: A surgical procedure to look at the organs, tissues, and lymph nodes between the lungs for abnormal areas.

Organs of the chest (thoracoscopy and mediastinoscopy)

Confirmation done by tissue biopsy of accompanying nodes if any, mediastinoscopy, mediastinotomy, or thoracotomy.

Diagnostic fiberoptic bronchoscopy was performed in only 69 hospital admissions, and thoracotomy and mediastinoscopy were rarely required.

If mediastinal lymph node involvement is suspected, mediastinoscopy may be used to sample the nodes and assist staging.

But more white patients had mediastinoscopy for viewing the middle of the chest cavity and thoracoscopy for examining the lungs and other structures.

Extended mediastinoscopy is a technique which allows access to the pre-aortic (station 6) and aortopulmonary window (station 5) lymph nodes.

During a mediastinoscopy, a small cut (incision) is made in the neck just above the breastbone or on the left side of the chest next to the breastbone.

For example, LMRI could replace lymphangiography, mediastinoscopy, or endoscopic ultrasound for nodal staging.

If the initial mediastinal staging included a mediastinoscopy, most surgeons try to avoid a repeat mediastinoscopy after radiation treatment because of scarring.

The microbiologic, cytologic, and histologic findings of expectorated and induced sputum and other samples obtained by bronchoscopy, mediastinoscopy, and thoracotomy were noted.

A mediastinoscope is a thin, tube-like instrument used to examine the tissues and lymph nodes in the area between the lungs (mediastinum) in a procedure known as mediastinoscopy.

In many cases mediastinoscopy has been replaced by other biopsy methods that use computed tomography (CT), echocardiography, or bronchoscopy to guide a biopsy needle to the abnormal tissue.

In general, EUS is most appropriate for evaluation of the posterior inferior mediastinum while mediastinoscopy or EBUS are best for the anterior superior mediastinum.

The main techniques of diagnosing SVCS are with chest X-rays (CXR), CT scans, transbronchial needle aspiration at bronchoscopy and mediastinoscopy.

Bronchoscopy combined with biopsy Pleural biopsy CT scan directed needle biopsy Mediastinoscopy with biopsy Open lung biopsy Treatment depends on the specific type of lung cancer.

The stage of disease is based on a combination of clinical factors (i.e., physical examination, radiology, and laboratory studies) and pathological factors (i.e., biopsy of lymph nodes, bronchoscopy, mediastinoscopy, or anterior mediastinotomy).

If needle techniques are used (such as EUS-NA, TBNA, EBUS-NA, or TTNA) a non-malignant result should be further confirmed by mediastinoscopy as explained above.

It may include bronchoscopy, biopsy of palpable cervical or supraclavicular lymph nodes, needle biopsy of a lung mass or mediastinal nodes using either CT or ultrasound guidance, mediastinoscopy, mediastinotomy, median sternotomy, video-assisted thoracoscopy, and conventional thoracotomy.

In other words, an EUS that has a positive result (shows cancer) will avoid further needless surgery, whereas a result not showing cancer may be false-negative, and probably requires an excisional biopsy technique for confirmation, such as VATS or mediastinoscopy.