A Brief Look at Robotic-Assisted Thoracic Surgery

As the president of AOK Innovations, LLC, Jonathan Kiev, MD has patented and designed numerous innovative medical devices for use by medical professionals in hospitals, EMS, and battlefields. In addition, Jonathan Kiev, MD practices as a cardiothoracic surgeon at the Kentucky-based Catholic Health Initiative, where he specializes in thoracic oncology and robotic surgery.

Robotic-assisted thoracic surgery is a form of minimally invasive thoracic surgery that consolidates digital cameras, robotic technology, and health practitioners’ prowess into a high-quality surgical procedure on the chest. Contrary to open surgery, every minimally invasive thoracic surgical procedure avoids making large cuts when surgeons operate on tissues in the chest region.

Robotic-assisted thoracic surgery streamlines minimally invasive surgery a step further by leveraging the precision of a robotic surgical system that responds to instruction by a surgeon sitting right in front of the console in the operating room. During a robotic-assisted thoracic surgical procedure, the surgeon makes two or more tiny incisions between the chest ribs.

A tiny 3D camera passed through one of the incisions while wristed robotic instruments entered the chest cavity through the other opening. The surgeon uses the camera to visualize organs and tissues in the chest while they control the robotic instruments directly through the console to operate on the patient.

Since it involves tiny cuts, robotic-assisted thoracic surgical techniques facilitate faster post-operative recovery and cause fewer scars than traditional open surgery. The technique also minimizes blood loss.