Not sure where you are in GA but my dr just referred me to Dr. William Mayfield in Marietta since he does the thymus removal laproscopically with only two small incisions and no full chest surgery. I got diagnosed with M/G this summer also. Good luck. I am personally going to try to get them to repeat a scan in a few months and re-evaluate since my symptoms aren't really that severe as of yet and it is only slightly bigger than should be.

[Hello,

I m a new member (i ve joined this great community this month) as well and I ve been sharing the same worries as you regarding the thymectomy . I have an elarged thymus (but they didnt give me enough details about the size they said 4 gr which must be wrong ) and doctors cant say if it is or not thymoma, but they want me to have the surgery.

I asked for a copy of the scan as advised on this site and i m waiting for the copy to come, not sure how long it will take, but than I should be able to see more.

I m scared of the surgery, not sure if it is going to work for me or not.
However, I was recommended the least invasive operation (transcervical approach) but it does have its limitations and the doctor wants to revert to a full strenotomy in the event of a big problem identified down there !

I was thinking that if I go for the surgery I will go for the transcervical approach and than if problems appaer to go for the robotical one Da Vinci (the second invasive in the list?!) but that s just an idea, not sure if I can choose what i want .

That is my last idea, but i m still reluctant to the thought of having my thymus removed.

hope that the appointment with your doc went well

I see you are in the UK, so not sure how things work there. Not all cardio-thoracic surgeons are trained to do the surgery robotically (DaVinci is a brand of robotic equipment). Also, not all hospitals have the equipment. I just had my thymectomy in December 2009 and it was done robotically. I specifically chose a surgeon & hospital that could do it this way. I did have a thymoma -- 4cm in size, so surgery was not an option for me. I just have 3 small incisions (less than 1 inch each) over and to the side of my right breast. No stitches, just tape over them for about a week or so. No pain at all after the drainage tube was removed the day after surgery.

I don't believe my thymus was enlarged, but the pathology report showed that it weighed 60 grams and measured 11 x 7 x 1.0 cm thick.

Good luck with your decision.

thank you , is right the robot doesnt exist in many hospitals, it seems that I will have trouble finding a place and trained professionals.
its great to hear that your recovery was so good