Lung and renal cancer discovered during a routine check-up: the story of a 67-year-old patient

Routine medical check-ups can detect serious illnesses in their early stages, and timely treatment can lead to good outcomes. This was the case for Filip, a 67-year-old man who considered himself healthy, yet continued to attend regular medical examinations. During one of these visits, a chest X-ray revealed a suspicious abnormality. Further investigations confirmed a serious diagnosis: lung cancer.

The news caught him off guard, as he had no symptoms whatsoever and felt perfectly well. He immediately began searching for a suitable specialist for evaluation and treatment, and following a recommendation, he booked an appointment with Dr. Mihnea Orghidan, a consultant thoracic surgeon at Spitalul Clinic SANADOR.

The doctor recommended further investigations, including a bronchoscopy, which confirmed the pulmonary neoplasm. The agreed treatment was a right upper lobectomy, in which the lung lobe affected by cancer was removed.

The procedure was carried out successfully by Dr. Mihnea Orghidan at Spitalul Clinic SANADOR. Filip's recovery was straightforward, and because the cancer had been discovered at a stage where surgery could be performed with curative intent, the doctors did not recommend adjuvant oncological treatment.

His medical challenges did not end there, however. During a post-operative follow-up, Filip received a second serious diagnosis: clear cell renal carcinoma, the most common form of kidney cancer. He chose once again to seek treatment at Spitalul Clinic SANADOR, booking an appointment with Assoc. Prof. Dr. Constantin Gîngu, a consultant urologist and head of Oncological and Reconstructive Urological Surgery at the hospital.

The doctor performed a partial resection of the right kidney, a procedure that concluded with good results. As this cancer had also been detected at an early stage, post-operative assessment indicated that no further treatment was necessary.

Approximately two years after the lung surgery, Filip began coughing up blood and made another appointment with Dr. Mihnea Orghidan. A bronchoscopy with biopsy revealed a tumour recurrence at the level of the right upper lobe bronchus.

Following a review of the case, the multidisciplinary oncology board at the SANADOR Oncology Centre recommended surgical treatment: a bronchial resection, a complex procedure designed to eliminate the recurrence whilst preserving as much healthy lung tissue as possible.

The operation lasted four hours and proceeded well, with the medical team successfully preserving the remaining lung parenchyma. The difficulty of the procedure arose from post-operative adhesions between the lung and the chest wall, which required meticulous dissection of the pulmonary artery in the area of the bronchial stump. Filip recovered without complications and was discharged after one week. He is currently breathing well, feeling in good health, and is deeply grateful to the medical team that treated him.

At Spitalul Clinic SANADOR, patients with pulmonary conditions have access to specialist consultations and investigations carried out using modern equipment, ensuring accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment. Thoracic surgery procedures are performed by experienced surgeons in a modern operating theatre, supported by a Category I Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Unit with an extended level of competence.