What Can Be Done to Improve Recovery From Mesothelioma Surgery?

[MUSIC PLAYING] If a patient chooses surgery for mesothelioma, they'll undergo a pleurectomy decortication. And the most important thing for patients afterwards is to walk, to move. And it doesn't even have to be walking long periods of around the hall. It has to be just even sitting up. We know that even sitting up for two to four hours is equivalent to walking a mile in patients that just had surgery two days prior. So sitting them up and then ambulating even with the chest tubes are the most important aspect that we see. And the idea is not only does it help them stay functional and make sure their muscle mass stays improved and not losing muscle mass, but they can also expand the lung. Part of what we do is we take the pleural lining off of the lung. So the lung leaks a little bit. So it's kind of not really-- it's leaking air, so it's not fully expanded. It's not really doing its full potential, especially if you're laying in bed. It's like a shriveled raisin. So if you want it to get expanded, the idea is, the more movement they can do, the quicker the lung can expand, heal, decrease air leak, and then they can recover and go home sooner. And so the idea of ambulation and sitting up are really the two-- really to simplify it-- are really the mainstays of post-operative care after mesothelioma surgery. [MUSIC PLAYING]