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Quick Facts:
Northwest AR
Doctors at Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas accomplished an innovative achievement in thoracic oncology – a first in Arkansas and across Mercy – by detecting and removing a cancerous lung nodule in a single procedure.
Patients typically have a three to four week wait between detection and treatment, adding undue stress and the potential for a dangerous cancer to spread in the interim between the procedures. Last month, the Mercy Northwest Arkansas team successfully performed the procedure as a single anesthetic event.
According to the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer, the survival rate for Stage IA1 lung cancer is 92% over five years. By Stage IIA, the survival rate drops to 60%.
Mercy pulmonologist Dr. Penchala Mittadodla, assisted by pathologist Dr. Greg McKenzie, performed a minimally invasive, Ion robotic bronchoscopy-guided biopsy, to diagnose the non-small cell lung cancer. They dye-marked the lesion, enabling Mercy cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Trung Ly Tran to perform a curative robotic segmentectomy, removing the lung lobe. This early-stage diagnosis and treatment in one procedure, done at only a few larger medical centers nationally, is quickly becoming the gold standard.
“Lung cancer – of all the cancers – has the highest mortality rate,” Dr. Mittadodla said. “The longer we wait, the more the cancer spreads and goes to the next stage. The key is to find the cancer early and the cure early. For this procedure, we basically reduced the waiting time from diagnosis to treatment to zero.”
Achieving this expedited treatment takes a high level of cooperation between the primary care physician, the thoracic surgeon and the pulmonologist.
“The whole procedure involved a lot of coordination to make it a success,” Dr. Mittadodla said. “We have a fantastic team here at Mercy, and I am blessed to be a part of it.”
This advanced procedure relied on Ion robotic bronchoscopy equipment made possible by Mercy Health Foundation donors.
“Having this expertise and capability will save lives,” said Dr. Sonal Bhakta, Mercy Northwest Arkansas chief medical officer. “We’re so proud of our doctors and the whole team for bringing this innovative first to Arkansas and Mercy.”
