In today’s article, we are taking a close look at robotic surgery for lung cancer. Robotic lung surgery was introduced back in 2002 and the technique is called as RATS which is Robotic Assisted Thoracic Surgery. In robotic surgery, a surgeon performs a process to manipulate small tools attached to a robotic arm. This helps in performing minimally invasive surgical procedures with more accuracy and precision. It helps in limiting the damage being caused to the lung tissue.
The procedure involves a cart with three or four robotic arms and a console to manipulate the arms. The surgeon looks down at high-resolution, three-dimensional magnified image and then manipulate with simple hand movements. There are different types of lung cancer procedures, depending upon the size and location of tumor.
In robotic wedge resection, the surgeon removes a small portion of lung including tumor and certain healthy tissues around it. In robotic lobectomy, the entire affected lobe is removed and in robotic sub-lobar resection, a portion of the anatomic segment having tumor and some surrounding lung is removed by surgeon. All these procedures involve robotic lymph node dissection.
Robotic lung cancer surgery comes with good number of benefits. It causes less pain and better healing as compared to other lung cancer treatment options available. Then, there’s less blood loss as small incisions cause less damage. The recovery time is also reduced and thus, one gets back to their routine sooner. The procedure allows for greater precision and better view thanks to the three-dimensional magnified view of the chest cavity. Robotic lung surgery can be used to remove cancerous tissues from the lungs. The doctors may suggest it with stage one or two non-small cell lung cancer patients after analysis all health factors.
The information shared in this blog is for educational purposes only. Please consult your healthcare practitioner for all medical needs.
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