PVHMC Now Offers a Minimally Invasive, Single-Setting Anesthesia Procedure for Early-Stage Lung Cancer

Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center (PVHMC) now offers a new minimally invasive, single-setting anesthesia procedure to diagnose and treat early-stage lung cancer on the same day.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States, with 225,000 diagnoses and 125,000 deaths, annually. Since symptoms are not usually present until later stages, early diagnosis and treatment are vital to saving lives. The new approach, called single anesthetic bronchoscopy and resection (SABR), allows providers to remove cancerous tissue right as it is detected.

At the start of the procedure, a low-dose CT scan of the lungs is performed to determine the exact location of the nodule. An interventional pulmonologist uses Ion, a robotic-assisted surgical system that uses an ultra-thin maneuverable catheter to navigate deep into lung tissue, to navigate through the lungs and biopsy the nodule with care and accuracy.

After the biopsy, the tissue sample is sent to the hospital’s onsite pathologist to immediately assess for cancer cells, and results are provided to the surgical team within minutes. If malignancy is confirmed, a thoracic surgeon will perform lung resection surgery, with the aid of the DaVinci, a robotic-assisted video system for surgery that offers the surgeon superior precision and control.

Traditionally, lung cancer patients who undergo a lung biopsy may have to wait anywhere from 4-8 weeks for diagnosis and to schedule another surgical procedure for the nodule removal.

This single-setting anesthesia procedure not only reduces the anxiety patients may face as they wait for diagnosis and treatment, but it reduces the risk of cancer spreading during the waiting period, giving patients the best chance they can have for a cure.

To learn more about your risk for lung cancer, click here.