JERUSALEM, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Israeli doctors have removed a lung from a cancer patient's body, cleaned it from the tumor and successfully returned it to the patient's body, Beilinson Hospital in central Israel reported Thursday.
The surgeons said that this is a breakthrough, as the method of "cleansing" tumors from organs, which is still at a beginning stage, may change cancer treatment globally.
With the new method, there is no need to wait for an organ transplant, which also allows the patient to return to normal life without any chemotherapy or radiation treatments.
The cancer patient who underwent the surgery has suffered from the tumor that blocked the main airway in his left lung, leading to the lung's collapse.
Permanent resection of the lung, as is usually done in such cases, would have exposed the patient to several risks, even death, until finding a suitable lung for a transplant.
After prolonged discussions, the doctors decided to perform the new and complex procedure, which was attended by an extensive team of surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses and technicians.
During the operation, the patient was breathed through his right lung which continued to function, while the surgeons cut off the diseased lung and cleared it of the tumor.
Then, the lung was reattached, the blood vessels and bronchial tubes were reconnected as in a lung transplant, and the thorax was sutured back.
After hospitalization in the cardiac intensive care unit, the patient began a rehabilitation procedure and his condition is currently described as very good.
"The new surgery may offer new hope for patients with lung cancer worldwide to cure the disease completely," the doctors said.
