Robotic Bronchoscopy in Corbin, KY

John Randall Thompson, MD:

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in Kentucky. So early detection leads to cure, and through our screening services, and also through advanced technology like robotic bronchoscopy, we can identify these cancers early and improve survival.

Our standard bronchoscopy scope is relatively large compared to the airway, so we really can't get very far into the lungs. With the robotic navigational system, we have a very small, precisely manipulated catheter that allows us to get way out to the periphery or the edge of the lung, and that allows us to get to areas that we normally wouldn't be able to get to and allows us to get biopsies from very small lesions that we wouldn't be able to biopsy any other way.

The patient is put to sleep by an anesthesiologist, and they're out through the entire procedure. We manipulate the scope to the lesion or tumor. We obtain our biopsies, and then we remove the scope. The patient is woken up and should be able to go home the same day.

Having this technology in Corbin allows us to provide the patients with state-of-the-art technology and keep them in their own community, and I think that's a fantastic commitment to Kentucky and to the Corbin area and the patients in Corbin.