mediastinotomy

9.9

A surgery that makes a cut in the chest between the lungs to reach organs there

noun
/ˌmidiəstəˈnɑtəmi/

Specialized

: mediastinotomía

Exploration of the neck, partial mediastinotomy, and complete excision of the cyst were carried out.

Examples

The creation of a cervical fasciotomy and mediastinotomy via a low collar incision allows for effective mediastinal decompression.

Academic text (2002)
Only a few patients have required a mediastinotomy.

Academic text (2003)
The surgeon performed a mediastinotomy to access the heart and nearby blood vessels.
After the mediastinotomy, the doctors were able to diagnose the issue within the chest cavity.
A successful mediastinotomy can help in treating serious conditions like tumors in the mediastinum.

Surface Forms

mediastinotomy singular

mediastinotomies plural

Morphology

mediastinotomy = mediastinum (semi-transparent) = mediastin + otomy

The structure is transparently built from the medical noun 'mediastinum' plus the surgical suffix '-otomy' meaning 'cutting into', but both elements are technical rather than general vocabulary.

Etymology

The word mediastinotomy comes from mediastinum, the part of the chest that sits 'in the middle' between the lungs, and the suffix -otomy, which means 'cutting into', as in tracheotomy. So, a mediastinotomy is a surgery that makes a cut into the middle of the chest to reach organs there.