Robotic bronchoscopy

Sharp HealthCare offers the latest technologies to diagnose and treat lung cancer, including robotic bronchoscopy.

Robotic bronchoscopy offers advantages over traditional bronchoscopy. With robotic bronchoscopy, doctors can reach even small tumors in deep areas of the lung and take a tissue sample for biopsy, allowing lung cancer to be diagnosed earlier when it is more treatable.

The procedure may also be less risky for some patients than traditional biopsy methods, which involve inserting a needle through the skin from outside of the body and into the lung to take a tissue sample. In some patients, this technique comes with a higher risk of developing a collapsed lung.

How robotic bronchoscopy works

Advanced software uses a CT scan of a patient’s chest to create a 3D virtual map of the lungs and finds the best path through the lungs to reach the nodule.

While a patient is under anesthesia in the operating room, a doctor guides a robotic bronchoscope to the nodule to take tissue samples quickly and safely. A pathologist reviews the samples immediately to see if there is cancer.

Once the robotic bronchoscopy is complete, the doctor performs an endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS). This procedure uses a lighted tube (bronchoscope) with an attached ultrasound to see if the cancer has spread to lymph nodes in the chest. With this information, a doctor can better understand the stage of the cancer, an important factor when determining the best treatment.

Both the robotic bronchoscopy and the EBUS occur one after the other in the same operating room, while a patient remains under anesthesia.

Benefits of robotic bronchoscopy

In the past, it could take weeks between a biopsy and a follow-up procedure to determine how far lung cancer has advanced — a time of high anxiety and stress for a patient and their loved ones.

Robotic bronchoscopy, together with EBUS, allows doctors to diagnose and stage lung cancer all in one sitting, meaning that patients can start treatment sooner.

Robotic lung surgery at Sharp

For patients who need surgery, Sharp is proud to be the first hospital system in San Diego County to offer robotic-assisted surgery with the new advanced da Vinci 5 platform.

Robotic-assisted surgery provides many benefits to patients, including less bleeding, less pain, faster recovery, and a shorter hospital stay.

The new da Vinci platform provides a wealth of advancements for surgeons, including more enhanced 3-D visualization, more responsive instrumentation resulting in more precise and delicate movements, and features that improve efficiency in the operating room.

Sharp is proud to be the first health care system on the West Coast to receive a Network of Excellence in Robotic Surgery designation by Surgical Review Corporation.

Sharp Lung Nodule Program

Patients who have a robotic bronchoscopy at Sharp have access to wrap-around services through the Advanced Pulmonary Program at Sharp Memorial Hospital or Sharp Grossmont Hospital.

Our program focuses on enhancing early diagnosis of lung cancer and expediting treatment for each patient. We bring together a multidisciplinary team of pulmonologists, medical and radiation oncologists, thoracic surgeons, thoracic radiologists and pathologists to provide personalized, coordinated care.