Robotic-Assisted Lung Biopsy Procedure in Elizabethtown, KY

Robotic-Assisted Lung Biopsy

Aaron Mulhall, MD, Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine
Baptist Health Hardin

Aaron Mulhall, MD:
Robotic-assisted bronchoscopy is a procedure we do to help diagnose patients with early-stage lung cancer. It's a procedure where we are able to biopsy very small spots or nodules in the lung and identify them as cancer or not lung cancer.

This technology is very important as Kentucky has some of the highest smoking rates and, as a result, some of the highest rates of lung cancer and lung cancer mortality in the U.S. Using this technology, we can drive very far out into the periphery of the lung. We are able to biopsy small nodules in very distant parts of the lung. There's also less risk associated with this procedure as compared to traditional biopsy methods.

Results from this procedure can be as quick as during the procedure when we have a pathologist look at the biopsy samples. Sometimes they can tell us if there is lung cancer there. Otherwise, we usually receive results in about two to three business days. What I like about robotic-assisted navigational bronchoscopy is that I can provide my patients a diagnosis of their lung nodule with as little risk as possible, allowing them to achieve a [possible] cure for cancer if it is indeed lung cancer or avoid potentially unnecessary cancer treatments or surgeries.

Having this technology close to home for our patients in Hardin County is really important. They can get advanced care close to home without having to drive to major metropolitan areas.