OH begins utilizing new procedure for lung biopsies

By James Mayse, Messenger-Inquirer

Owensboro Health has added a robotic surgical bronchoscopy system that can biopsy smaller lung masses to determine if they are cancerous.

The Ion endoluminal system can perform robotic bronchoscopies of the lungs, using a much smaller scope than traditional methods. The system is less invasive than other forms of taking biopsies of masses in the lungs, which reduces the risk of complications.

Dr. Brad Brasher, pulmonologist with Owensboro Health, said nodules in the lung found during cancer CT screenings where done previously by surgery, by inserting a needle through the chest, which created the possibility of complications, such as bleeding or a collapsed lung, or by using a large scope that couldn’t reach far inside the lungs.

People recommended for a biopsy have balked in the past at having a needle inserted through their chests.

The system can reach nodules at the periphery of the lung that were previously unreachable.

The system will allow OH to test nodules for lung cancer found during CT scans while the mass is still small, Brasher said.

“Most times, people don’t know they have anything” until they start developing symptoms of lung cancer, Brasher said.

Identifying a cancer early means it can be treated through techniques like a lumpectomy and radiation treatment, rather than through chemotherapy, Brasher said.

“Everyone has done a good job of identifying high-risk patients,” such as people with histories of smoking, Brasher said. “Now, having better technologies to biopsy those nodules when they are really small is icing on the cake.”

With the new system, “I’m able to do the cases in shorter time, with better yields,” Brasher said.

“Patients are not a big fan when you tell them that’s what you’re sending them for,” Brasher said.

The larger scope used previously could only reach nodules that were in the airway of the lungs, Brasher said.

The Ion system performs a bronchoscopy by inserting a small catheter through the nostril. The flexible catheter, which can bend 180 degrees, contains a flexible needle for collecting tissue samples. A camera can be attached to the catheter, and the system can create a 3D image of the lung to guide the physician performing the bronchoscopy.