Robotic-Assisted Surgery for Early Lung Cancer

Fredericksburg house painter Stanley Easley is a prime example that regular medical checkups pay off. Stanley recently discovered during a routine test that he had lung cancer, but he’d caught it early. He called around and found that a surgeon at The Cancer Therapy and Research Center at The UT Health Science Center can remove early lung cancer with minimally invasive surgery. Dr. Daniel DeArmond makes 3 small cuts in the patient’s side. Then 4 robotic arms fitted with tiny instruments are inserted through the slits:
(:13/The small incisions…………………………………………..to heal.)

The patient, Stanley Easley, was discharged from the hospital after only 2 days, and was back at work a week later. Had Stanley had conventional surgery, his doctor said he likely would be off work for 6 weeks. Better yet, Easley’s cancer is gone and he isn’t expected to need further treatment because his cancer was caught early and surgery could remove it completely.

Doctors at the UT Health Science Center San Antonio are using robot-assisted surgery to treat other types of cancer, such as prostate, kidney and bladder cancers. Patients can benefit in many ways: shorter hospital stay, less pain, less risk of infection, less blood loss and transfusions, less scarring and faster recovery.

Actualities:

CUT ONE: The robotic system enables Dr. Daniel DeArmond to see a true 3-D image and to use minute-sized instruments with more dexterity and precision:
(:13/Particularly when…………………………………………pair of pliers.)

CUT TWO: Patient Stanley Easley could hardly believe that a week after surgery, he was back at work:
(:06/I was more………………………………………….pretty much.)


The Cancer Therapy & Research Center (CTRC) at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio is one of the nation’s leading academic research and treatment centers, serving more than 4.4 million people in the high-growth corridor of Central and South Texas including Austin, San Antonio, Laredo and the Rio Grande Valley. CTRC is one of a few elite cancer centers in the country to be named a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-Designated Cancer Center, and is one of only three in Texas. CTRC handles more than 120,000 patient visits each year and is a world leader in developing new drugs to treat cancer. The CTRC Institute for Drug Development (IDD) is internationally recognized for conducting the largest oncology Phase I clinical drug studies program in the world. IDD has participated in the clinical and/or preclinical development of many of the cancer drugs approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. For more information, visit www.ctrc.uthscsa.edu.



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