Chest and Lung (Thoracic) Robotic-Assisted Procedures

Thoracic surgery focuses on conditions inside the chest, including the lungs, chest wall and diaphragm. Now surgeons at Atrium Medical Center can use robotic-assisted surgery to treat lung cancer by removing part of the lung (a procedure called lobectomy), as well as to perform other thoracic procedures.

Traditional open surgery to access the chest cavity requires surgeons to make a long incision through the chest wall, known as thoracotomy. In some cases, the surgeon has to cut open the breastbone at the front of the ribcage. Less-invasive options using smaller incisions are available for many patients.

Left: da Vinci Lobectomy Incision Right: Open Lobectomy Incision

Benefits of Robotic-Assisted Thoracic Procedures

The robotic surgical system gives surgeons greater precision with control and access to hard-to-reach areas. This allows extremely complex operations to be performed through just a few small incisions. Since the surgeon is not cutting through muscle or spreading ribs, patients experience a much easier recovery.

Benefits of robotic-assisted thoracic procedures include:

• Faster recovery
• Fewer complications
• Less blood loss
• Reduced cancer recurrence or mortality in advanced disease
• Reduced pain
• Shorter length of hospital stay

Procedures at Atrium Medical Center

Thoracic robotic-assisted surgeries at performed at Atrium include:

• Decortication
• Empyema
• Lobectomy 
• LV Lead Placement
• Lymph Node Biopsy
• Mediastinal Mass Excision
• Pericardial Cyst
• Pericardial Effusion
• Pericardial Tumor Biopsy
• Pericardial Window
• Pneumonectomy 
• Posterior Mediastinal Mass Excision
• Segmentectomy
• Sleeve Lobectomy
• Thoracic Duct Ligation
• Thymectomy
• Wedge Resection

Choose an Atrium Surgeon

Choose a cardiothoracic surgeon credentialed to perform robotic-assisted surgery at Atrium Medical Center.