Minimally Invasive Surgery, Robotic-Assisted Procedures for Lung Cancer

Common minimally invasive procedures

One minimally invasive procedure that is used to diagnose and treat a wide variety of health problems is an endoscopy. During an endoscopy, your healthcare provider (HCP) puts an endoscope, which is a long, thin tube, inside your body to get a close-up view of the body part they need to check. This tube usually has a light and a camera at the end of it, and your HCP looks at a screen that shows them what the camera is seeing.

There are many different types of endoscopies, but they all work in the same basic way. A type of endoscope called a laparoscope can be used with surgical tools in a minimally invasive surgery called a laparoscopy to check for problems in your stomach or pelvic area.

During a laparoscopy, the laparoscope goes in your stomach through a small cut and displays images on a monitor for your surgeon to view.

Robotic-assisted surgery is another minimally invasive procedure. It involves a high definition (HD) camera that shows a close up of the area and a robotic arm with tiny surgical tools at the end. There’s also a control panel that looks like a video game joystick. The surgeon controls the robotic arm, which is a type of surgical instrument, to perform the surgery.

When are minimally invasive procedures used?

While there will be times when more traditional procedures are needed, minimally invasive procedures can be used for many different health issues all over the body — including lung cancer and other health problems that affect the lungs.

For example, HCPs may perform a type of endoscopy called a bronchoscopy that uses a tube to look inside your lungs and airways. This procedure can be used to check for lung cancer and to figure out how serious it is. Robotic bronchoscopy, which is done on systems like Ion and Monarch, involves a smaller tube and a control panel that an HCP uses to move the tube in precise ways and reach parts of the lung that a traditional bronchoscopy cannot reach. A 3D map of the lungs allows the HCP controlling the tube to see exactly where the tube is and where it needs to go, guiding the tube to difficult-to-reach nodules for biopsying.

Minimally invasive procedures can also be used to treat lung cancer and other lung problems. Instead of the traditional approach, which is open surgery called a thoracotomy, minimally invasive procedures use smaller incisions and often offer shorter recovery times. With video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS), often used for small, early-stage lung cancer, your HCP makes a few small cuts in your chest, then uses a camera and special long-handled tools to perform the surgery while looking at a video screen.

With robotic-assisted surgery, such as the da Vinci Surgical System or the Mako system, robotic arms (fully controlled by the doctor) are used in a minimally invasive way to treat more complex lung issues. Robotic-assisted surgery uses a video screen with high-definition 3D imaging.

Perks of minimally invasive procedures

Minimally invasive procedures only need small cuts so they’re much easier on the body, which may mean less pain for the patient, shorter recovery times and smaller scars. In addition, studies have shown that robotic surgery is associated with better outcomes than other types of minimally invasive surgery or open surgery both during and after surgery. The benefits of robotic surgery include reduced need for blood transfusions, lower rates of complications, shorter hospital stays, fewer hospital readmissions and even lower mortality rates.

Surgery that takes less of a toll may be particularly helpful for people going through cancer treatment. When your body doesn’t have to work as hard to heal from surgery, it may be better able to handle what comes next in your treatment plan.

And this kind of minimally invasive cancer treatment is on the rise. A recent study led by the Duke University School of Medicine that looked at over 76,000 lung cancer cases found lung cancer surgery is moving in a less invasive direction — particularly for younger and healthier patients.

“This is a very encouraging finding for the entire community of professionals caring for lung cancer patients,” study author and Duke Medical School professor Xiaofei Wang, Ph.D., said in a press release.

Know your options

Whether you’re dealing with the scary possibility of a lung cancer diagnosis or another health problem entirely, a minimally invasive procedure may be a potential treatment tool.

To learn more about your choices when it comes to less invasive treatments, talk to your HCP. They can walk you through your options and help you choose the best one for your unique needs.