Surgeons at Fethiye State Hospital in Muğla province have carried out the hospital’s first lung lobectomy using a closed, minimally invasive technique, the Anadolu Agency (AA) reported on Saturday.
The patient, aged 58, had a mass in the lower lobe of the left lung. After tests, a team led by thoracic surgery specialist Dr. Dilara Gürsoy decided that the mass should be removed, and the lower lobe of the left lung was taken out in the operation, AA said. According to the hospital’s chief physician’s office, the surgery was successful and the patient has reached the stage of being discharged. The report did not give the patient’s name or say when the operation took place.
What a closed lobectomy is
The human lungs are divided into lobes: three on the right and two on the left. A lobectomy is the surgical removal of one of these lobes and is a standard treatment when a tumour or other mass is confined to one part of the lung. In open surgery, the surgeon reaches the lung through a larger incision between the ribs. In a closed, or minimally invasive, operation, the surgeon works through small incisions using a camera and long instruments. The AA report did not specify which minimally invasive technique the Fethiye team used.
Minimally invasive chest surgery generally aims to reduce pain and shorten recovery compared with open surgery, although the choice of method depends on the patient and the case.
Hospital services on the Fethiye coast
Fethiye State Hospital is a public hospital run by the Ministry of Health. Foreign residents can be treated at state hospitals, with costs depending on whether they are covered by the national social security system (SGK) or hold private insurance. Our explainer on health insurance for foreign residents sets out the options, and our guide to Türkiye’s health tourism rules covers treatment for visitors.
For residents of Fethiye, Seydikemer and nearby areas, the availability of specialised operations at the local public hospital can matter because many people otherwise travel to larger centres for complex surgery. Earlier this month, Muğla’s provincial health director reviewed plans for a 150-bed hospital in Dalaman and Fethiye, according to local reports.
For more on daily life, healthcare and property on this stretch of coast, see our guide to living in Fethiye.
Sources
- Fethiye Devlet Hastanesi’nde 58 yaşındaki hastaya ilk kez kapalı lobektomi (AA/Haberler.com)
- Muğla İl Sağlık Müdürü Dalaman ve Fethiye’de 150 yataklı hastane (Haberler.com)
Photo: Natanael Melchor / Unsplash License, via Unsplash
