- Specialty Pleural Mesothelioma
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James A. Haley VA Hospital
Address:13000 Bruce B. Downs Blvd
Tampa, FL 33612 - Procedure Pleurectomy With Decortication (P/D)
Dr. Wickii Vigneswaran
Thoracic Surgeon
Dr. Wickii Vigneswaran is a Tampa-based thoracic and cardiovascular surgeon who focuses on minimally invasive procedures for pleural mesothelioma. He is also a pioneer in using robotic- or video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS). Learn more about Dr. Vigneswaran and get our help connecting with him today.
or call (866) 608-8933
Overview
About Dr. Wickii Vigneswaran
Dr. Wickii Vigneswaran is a thoracic surgeon at James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital in Tampa, Florida, and professor at the University of South Florida’s Morsani College of Medicine.
He previously served as the division Director of Thoracic Surgery at Loyola University Medical Center and the system Medical Director of Thoracic Surgery for Edward-Elmhurst Health.
Dr. Vigneswaran has worked extensively with pleural mesothelioma and uses minimally invasive surgical techniques, such as robotic and video-assisted procedures.
Much of his research focuses on the effect of treatments, such as pleurectomy with decortication (P/D), on patients’ quality of life.
Career Highlights
Some of Dr. Vigneswaran’s career accomplishments include:
- Authored more than 100 articles and book chapters and edited three books about lung transplantation and thoracic surgery
- Helped improve the staging system for pleural mesothelioma
- Pioneered the use of robotic or video-assisted thoracic surgery
Awards & Honors
Dr. Vigneswaran is the recipient of several awards and honors, including:
- American Chemical Society Fellow
- Chicago Magazine: Top Doctors
- CMS Stage 1 EHR
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Dr. Wickii Vigneswaran’s Background & Qualifications
Dr. Vigneswaran earned his medical degree from the University of Peradeniya in Sri Lanka.
Upon graduation, he completed a residency in emergency medicine at the Walsall General Hospital, a residency in anesthesiology at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, and a residency in general surgery at Freeman Hospital, all located in England.
Dr. Vigneswaran completed his first residency in thoracic surgery at the Royal Infirmary of Glasgow, followed by a second residency in thoracic surgery at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. He later completed a series of fellowships in thoracic surgery in Canada and the United States.
Dr. Vigneswaran is a member of many professional associations, including:
- American College of Chest Physicians
- American College of Surgeons
- American Medical Association
- International College of Surgeons
- Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons in Canada
- Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburg, Scotland
- Royal Society of Medicine
- Society of Thoracic Surgeons
Dr. Wickii Vigneswaran’s Medical Specializations
Dr. Vigneswaran specializes in treating pleural mesothelioma using robotic-assisted surgery and video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS).
VATS is a minimally invasive procedure that uses small incisions and cameras to guide the surgeon while he is performing the operations.
An Experienced Mesothelioma Surgeon
Dr. Vigneswaran has performed more than 200 surgeries for mesothelioma, primarily following the pleurectomy with decortication (P/D) procedure.
Notable Work by Dr. Wickii Vigneswaran
One of the studies that Dr. Vigneswaran led examined the current staging system for pleural mesothelioma. If researchers can improve the scoring system, it can lead to more accurate prognoses and help guide the treatment.
The current staging system is tumor/node/metastasis (TNM), which looks at the size of the tumor, whether or not it has spread to nearby lymph nodes, and if it has spread to other parts of the body. However, while this system works well for some lung cancers, it is less effective at staging mesothelioma.
To help improve the pleural mesothelioma staging system, Dr. Vigneswaran and his team studied whether or not a mesothelioma tumor’s size could predict a patient’s prognosis.
His team confirmed that larger tumors were related to decreased survival times. By officially establishing the connection between tumor size and survival rates, researchers can fix the staging system to be more accurate.
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Improving Patient Quality of Life
Dr. Vigneswaran has studied the quality of life in patients who have undergone a P/D procedure. He was inspired to explore this when he realized that many individuals avoided having surgery because they feared it would lower their quality of life.
However, because P/D can prolong a patient’s life and many surgeons will recommend it as a treatment for pleural mesothelioma, he wanted to put his patients’ minds at ease.
Dr. Vigneswaran and his team surveyed more than 100 patients before and one month, 4-5 months, 7-8 months, and 10-11 months after they had P/D surgery to see how they rated their quality of life.
All patients surveyed reported that their quality of life improved in the month following the procedure and continued to improve as time went on.
The survey questions covered various aspects of a patient’s quality of life, including:
- How they felt they were functioning physically and emotionally
- If they experienced shortness of breath or insomnia
- Whether or not they were fatigued continuously
Mesothelioma Hope has no affiliation with and is not endorsed or sponsored by Dr. Wickii Vigneswaran. Any contact information listed is for informational purposes only. You have the right to contact Dr. Wickii Vigneswaran directly.
Written by:Jenna Tozzi, RNJenna Tozzi, RN, is the Chief Patient Care Advisor for Mesothelioma Hope. With more than 15 years of experience as an adult and pediatric oncology nurse navigator, Jenna provides exceptional guidance and support to cancer patients and their loved ones. Jenna has been featured in Oncology Nursing News and is a member of the Academy of Oncology Nurse & Patient Navigators & the American Nurses Association.
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