"Open-air" lung biopsy requires that the collection of lung tissue to be observed in the laboratory takes place after one or more incisions on the side, precisely between the ribs.
Through these small openings, in fact, the surgeon first introduces a camera - which, connected to an external monitor, allows him to orient himself in the thoracic cavity - and then the surgical instruments necessary for the extraction.
"Open-air" lung biopsy requires general anesthesia, so the patient is unconscious for the duration of the procedure and in communication with an oxygen supply.
The procedure generally lasts an hour and, at its conclusion, a pleural drainage is foreseen for the re-expansion of the affected lung. In fact, during surgery, the lung from which the tissue sample is taken collapses like in a pneumothorax .
The expected hospitalization is at least a couple of days.
The post-operative phase could be characterized by fatigue, chest pain during breathing, slight bleeding at the incision site and sore throat.
Since lung biopsy is in effect a surgical operation, it could give rise to some complications. Therefore, doctors prefer to resort to it only when the other less invasive biopsy tests have proven to be not exhaustive.
