POTSDAM, NY – Since beginning to offer robotic-assisted bronchoscopy procedures at Canton-Potsdam Hospital (CPH) three months ago, more than a dozen patients have benefited from the surgery.
Pulmonologist Rishi Kumar, MD, is a member of Rochester Regional Health’s (RRH) St. Lawrence Region medical team, and spear-headed the process to get an Ion Robotic Bronchoscopy into the CPH surgical suite. At the present time, RRH’s St. Lawrence Region is the only healthcare system north of Syracuse with ION offering this advanced procedure.
According to the New York State Department of Health, lung cancer is one of the most common cancers among New Yorkers. Each year over 6,700 men and over 7,200 women are diagnosed with lung cancer and about 3,800 men and more than 3,600 women die from this disease. Dr. Kumar explained the robotic bronchoscopy is a revolutionary, non-invasive process that can assist in the detection of lung cancer in its earliest stages.
“Unfortunately, lung cancer is very aggressive, and most patients end up being diagnosed with later stage lung cancer. The cancers usually start off as small spots or nodules, and the benefit of using the robotic bronchoscopy is that we can biopsy these nodules at their earlier stages. If we can diagnose an earlier stage lung cancer, then we can treat and cure our patient,” Dr. Kumar said.
The robotic camera, or bronchoscope, is inserted into the patient’s lung. This device called Ion by Intuitive, is only 3.5 millimeters (approximately one-eighth of an inch) in size, and is able to travel to the far distances of the lung.
“With this piece of equipment, we're able to target spots in a patient's lungs and take direct samples of them – all at a very low risk for our patients,” Dr. Kumar said.
The more traditional approach is a lung biopsy, which requires a CT scan, when a needle is inserted into the patient’s chest wall and then into the lung. This procedure may cause complications, including a 20 percent chance of experiencing a collapsed lung. In utilizing the robotic bronchoscope, that same risk is reduced to two percent.
“Not every spot is cancer; it can be infections or inflammation. When a spot is large enough, we do need to sample it and make sure we are not dealing with cancer, because lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths,” Dr. Kumar said.
“Another benefit of performing a bronchoscopy is after we finish the robotic portion, we can actually do another bronchoscope to evaluate the lymph nodes where the cancer could have spread. This way, the patient gets both procedures done at the same time, rather than having to go and come back for a second procedure and delay their care,” he added.
Some patients who are diagnosed with cancer require medical or radiation oncology, and others may require surgery. Incidentally, the first lung resection surgery was performed at CPH on December 20, 2024, after the patient had received a bronchoscopy.
Previously, the timeline for a patient receiving care for a lung nodule would have taken approximately three to four months (from detection to surgery). The robotic bronchoscope being used at CPH has reduced that timeline to three to four weeks.
“If a nodule does not turn out to be cancer, we don't forget about it. We continue to have follow-ups and make sure there's no further growth,” Dr. Kumar said.
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