The scope allows surgeons to reach inconspicuous tumors in the lungs with greater ease.
SAN ANTONIO — Lung cancer is the deadliest cancer in Texas, claiming more lives than colon, breast and prostate cancers combined. Robotic surgery is allowing surgeons to detect cancer by going into parts of the body that have been largely inaccessible.
The Ion Robotic Bronchoscopy is about the size of a phone charging cable. It moves through the narrow and complex passages in the lung where inconspicuous hard-to-reach tumors often grow, to catch cancer earlier and with greater ease.
“We found out he had lung cancer but it was already stage four,” said Irene Holden, talking about her father who passed away from lung cancer in 2019. “I think it’s going to help a lot of people. It could have helped my dad if it had been invented sooner.”
Dr. Jennifer Brody, an EMS physician at North Central Baptist Hospital within the Baptist Health System said: “If we’re able to find nodules smaller, find them sooner and then biopsy them in a smaller size. We’re able to diagnose cancer at an earlier stage and we can bring the mortality rate down for this cancer.”
A screen gives the surgeon two views. One where the device maps the lung of the patient and provides a target showing where to move. On the opposite side, there is an actual view of the inside of the patient in surgery.
“If we’re able to biopsy a small module and determine it’s cancer, then you’ll be referred to an oncologist or a surgeon to remove it completely,” said Brody.
The surgeon operates the controls and the track ball may remind you of the classic video game Centipede. But this no video game.
Getting screened for lung cancer, if you have high risk factors, is a must. And when combined with advancing tech, it can go a long way in saving lives.
“I think that it’s incredible technology that we have access to, to help our patients and to help our patients do better in the long run and to get treated faster,” Brody added.