First hospital in Tampa Bay to offer robotic assisted technology for lung cancer

Trinity, FL — Medical Center of Trinity now offers a robotic-assisted platform for minimally invasive lung biopsy. The new technology improves accuracy and precision of lung cancer biopsy, enabling surgeons the ability to diagnose lung cancer earlier than ever.

“Our aim is to get an accurate diagnosis without discomfort, pain or complications”, said Mathew Ninan, MD, FACS, FRCS(Thoracic) Thoracic Surgery and Director, Thoracic Surgery and Lung Nodule Program, HCA West Florida.  “The robotic bronchoscope achieves all these, unlike needle biopsies inserted through the skin.  In many instances, we can do the diagnosis and complete treatment with robotic surgery, at the same sitting, in one visit.”

The robot features an ultra-thin, easily maneuverable catheter that can move 180 degrees in all directions, allowing doctors to navigate through small and tortuous airways to reach nodules in any airway segment within the lung. The system’s flexible biopsy needle can also pass through very tight bends via the catheter to collect tissue in the peripheral lung, enabling a more precise biopsy and easier surgical experience for patients.

Most lung nodules are small and harmless. But over time, some nodules can grow and even become cancerous. Suspicious nodules larger than 8 millimeters may need to be biopsied. Previously, there were several options for testing a lung nodule, including with a needle inserted into the lungs, with a camera placed in the mouth (traditional CT-guided bronchoscopy) or with chest surgery. But nodules at the outer edges of the lungs are hard to reach with these older methods. With robotic bronchoscopy, a highly maneuverable robotic arm is able to get to these distant areas.

The robot-assisted bronchoscope is the newest robot added to the comprehensive Thoracic Oncology program at Medical Center of Trinity.