What is robotic bronchoscopy?
Robotic bronchoscopy is a minimally invasive procedure that uses a thin, flexible tube inserted into the airways to diagnose lung conditions, including lung cancer. Also called Ion robotic bronchoscopy or robotic-assisted bronchoscopy, the robot connected to the flexible tube allows for improved accuracy and farther access to places deep in the lungs that can’t be reached with traditional bronchoscopy.
When a lung nodule or mass is found on an imaging test, this procedure is used to take tissue samples to determine the underlying cause, such as cancer or an infection. Especially in hard-to-reach small lung nodules, it gives your team the ability to biopsy and diagnose early-stage lung cancer when it is most treatable. Surgery or radiation can then be used to treat these early-stage lung cancers, with a much higher survival rate than more advanced lung cancers.
Advancing lung cancer detection with Ion robotic bronchoscopy
Some lung nodules can’t be reached with a traditional bronchoscopy approach. Ion robotic bronchoscopy lets your care team access all 18 segments of your lungs. With this newer technology, doctors can perform lung biopsies even in small or remote nodules, improving the early detection of cancer.
Like robotic surgery, robotic bronchoscopy uses robotic technology-enabled devices controlled by your doctor. With features like real-time visual feedback and guidance, 3D mapping of the lungs and tiny biopsy tools, your care team can navigate and perform the biopsies precisely without the need for more invasive surgery.
What are the benefits of robotic-assisted bronchoscopy?
Robotic-assisted bronchoscopy enables providers to biopsy parts of the lung that were previously inaccessible using conventional bronchoscopy. It helps with the early diagnosis of lung cancers and, together with a procedure that looks at your airways called an endobronchial ultrasound bronchoscopy, it assists with staging lung cancer. This means you can expedite the most appropriate treatment plan for you.
Some of the potential benefits of robotic bronchoscopy include:
- Increased access to the lungs using a minimally invasive approach
- Improved accuracy in biopsies and early lung cancer diagnosis
- Reduced recovery time compared to more invasive surgical options
- Improved staging of lung cancer to connect patients with tailored care
- Reduced complications compared to traditional bronchoscopy or needle biopsy
Who is eligible for robotic bronchoscopy?
Anyone who has a lung nodule found on an imaging test and needs a biopsy, even without lung cancer symptoms, may be eligible for robotic bronchoscopy for diagnosis. Before your procedure, your doctor will review your medical history and may perform additional tests to choose the right bronchoscopy option for you.
If you’ve been told you have a lung nodule that needs a closer look, ask your care team about your options for bronchoscopy, including robotic bronchoscopy.
How do I prepare for robotic bronchoscopy?
Your care team will give you specific instructions about preparing for your robotic bronchoscopy, such as when to stop eating or taking certain medications as you’ll have general anesthesia, and plan for a support person to come with you to the hospital and drive you home.
Imaging tests are also an important part of preparing for a robotic bronchoscopy. Before your procedure, your care team will perform a special protocol CT scan of your chest to map out the exact location of the biopsy target in your lung. Imaging helps plan and guide the best route to reach the nodule during your procedure.
What to expect from robotic bronchoscopy
On average, your robotic bronchoscopy procedure will take an hour or two. But you should plan to be at the facility for four to six hours, including the preparation, procedure and recovery time. Robotic bronchoscopy is usually an outpatient procedure, which means most people go home the same day.
Let your care team know if you have questions about what to expect. We want you to feel comfortable and confident through each step of your procedure.
Before the procedure
Before your procedure, your care team will review your medical history and ask you to sign consent forms after all your questions are answered. You’ll get an IV drip and have monitors placed to track vital signs like your oxygen saturation, blood pressure and heart rate. Your care team will perform final safety checks and then give you medications to make you sleep during the bronchoscopy.
During the procedure
Once asleep, your team will place a tube into your windpipe and guide a thin scope into your airways using a robotic arm controlled by your doctor. The technology used during robotic bronchoscopy helps your care team carefully navigate the airways in the lungs and reach the precise location of the lung mass or nodule.
From there, your team may take multiple biopsies—tissue samples from the lung mass or nodule—to send to the lab for testing. You may also have other advanced imaging tests during your procedure to help with the diagnosis and staging of lung cancer, as well as biopsies taken of any enlarged lymph nodes in the chest.
After the procedure
Following your procedure, you’ll be monitored as you wake up from anesthesia. Usually, you’ll be discharged to go home the same day. You may have some soreness in your mouth, throat or chest that will get better on its own within one to three days. Your care team will contact you in a few days with the results of your biopsies.
What are the risks of robotic bronchoscopy?
Robotic bronchoscopy tends to have fewer risks than more invasive surgical procedures and similar risks to a traditional bronchoscopy. Before your procedure, your doctor will discuss the potential risks and benefits. Some minor risks or temporary side effects could include sore throat, cough, hoarseness, bloody mucus, fever or nausea.
Other complications are rare, but they could include:
- Air leak and accumulation around the biopsied lung called pneumothorax
- Bleeding from the biopsy site
- Infection
- Airway tearing or perforation
- Bronchospasm, or a tightening of the airways
- Heart arrhythmia
Understanding the results
Following your robotic bronchoscopy, your doctor will let you and your support person know the initial findings and any recommendations for your next steps. It may take a few days before your doctor receives the results of the biopsies performed during your procedure.
These biopsy results usually allow your provider to either diagnose or rule out lung cancer. You may also be referred to additional medical providers, like an oncologist or a chest surgeon, to help you understand your results and create a treatment plan for your care.
A dedicated approach to lung cancer care
With our dedicated lung cancer care teams, you have options and experts on your side. From diagnostic technology like robotic bronchoscopy to minimally invasive surgical procedures to clinical trials, we give you access to complete care not found at every center.
Our teams of multiple specialists coordinate your care as one, helping expedite your treatment and reducing the challenges of navigating a cancer diagnosis. With highly trained and experienced specialists on the medical staff, including leaders in lung cancer, you have a range of options to fit your needs.
Baylor Scott & White has one of the largest networks of accredited cancer centers in the country. Many of our facilities are nationally known for their expertise in pulmonology, lung surgery, and cancer care.