The Division of Thoracic Surgery provides minimally invasive
surgery. Video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) describes a
minimally invasive approach to surgery in the chest. Small Lung
Nodules A small mass of cells or tissue is called a nodule. Not
all pulmonary, or lung, nodules are cancerous. In fact, there
can be many small masses of cells in a lung and only some of
them may represent early cancer. Causes of Small Lung Nodules
Benign small lung nodules can occur because of old infections or
scars, cysts, tuberculosis, or vascular abnormalities. If they
cause no symtoms, which is often the case, treatment is seldom
necessary. If the nodules are malignant, it is often a sign that
lung cancer exists and would need to be treated. A biopsy of the
nodules can be done with video-assisted thoracic surgery to help
determine whether the nodules need to be removed.