Lung Surgery Center

At Holy Family Hospital, our leading thoracic surgeons - Shalini Reddy, MD and Prodyut Kumar Poddar, MD - are using cutting-edge surgical techniques to diagnose and treat lung cancer. These minimally invasive procedures, typical of academic institutions, minimize pain, speed recovery and enhance a patient’s quality of life.        

Minimally Invasive Thoracic Surgery (MITS)

Nationwide, only about 10 percent of lung cancer patients are benefiting from this advanced surgical technique used to treat lung cancer.

During MITS, the surgeons create tiny portholes through which the cancer is removed. Compared to the traditional invasive procedure, which requires an incision from a patient’s armpit to spine that causes scar tissue, this technique minimizes pain and speeds recovery. Patients typically return home in a day or two as compared to as many as seven days for the invasive procedure.

For individuals with emphysema or other lung diseases who cannot tolerate a traditional lobectomy to remove a lung that has a lesion, this technique makes it possible for the physicians to precisely remove the cancer and largely spare the lung.

Electromagnetic Navigation Bronchoscopy (ENB)

One of the main issues with diagnosing early lung cancer is the ability to reach small lesions in the lung and to obtain tissue for diagnosis. More than one-half of targeted lesions cannot be accessed by conventional bronchoscopy due to the narrowing of the bronchial tree branches and their many angles. As a result, a non-diagnostic bronchoscopy for a lung lesion often leads to more invasive procedures for a patient.

The ENB’s sophisticated technology overcomes these challenges by utilizing image guidance localization and an electromagnetic energy navigation system. As a result, physicians can access the patient’s natural airways and reach regions deep within the lung to locate and biopsy small lesions. This minimizes the need for more invasive surgical procedures and allows surgeons to detect lung disease and lung cancer earlier, even before symptoms are evident.

In one procedure, surgeons can navigate peripheral lesions, biopsy for diagnosis, stage lymph nodes and prepare to administer high-dose radiation therapy. Like MITS, this procedure also provides a treatment option for patients who cannot undergo surgery, while minimizing their risk for complications.

Click here for a medical overview of this technology and technique.