This is another example of how we're bringing advanced, patient-centered thoracic cancer care to our region.
Dana M. Ferrari-Light, DO, MPHDartmouth Cancer Center achieved a significant advancement in lung cancer care by performing its first combined robotic lung procedure under a single anesthesia. This milestone involved specialists from thoracic surgery and interventional pulmonology collaborating to enhance patient outcomes.
During the procedure, physicians used robotic bronchoscopy—a minimally invasive technique offering precise airway navigation—to locate a 7-millimeter lung nodule. The team successfully biopsied and marked the nodule with dye, facilitating its removal without removing additional lung tissue. Subsequently, surgeons employed robotic-assisted surgery to excise the targeted lung area.
This integrated approach, known as single anesthesia bronchoscopy and resection (SABR), is now available through Dartmouth Cancer Center's Comprehensive Thoracic Oncology Program. This method provides several patient, benefits including reduced anesthesia exposure, precise tissue removal, preservation of healthy lung tissue, and real-time diagnosis and treatment.
"This is another example of how we're bringing advanced, patient-centered thoracic cancer care to our region," said thoracic surgeon Dana M. Ferrari-Light, DO, MPH, who participated in the procedure. "It reflects not only the technology we have but how closely our specialists work together, that we could integrate seamlessly into the same operating room."
By expanding innovative, team-based approaches like SABR, Dartmouth Cancer Center ensures that patients north of Boston have access to advanced lung cancer care and technology typically found in major cities, without the need to travel far from home.
Ferrari-Light worked side-by-side with interventional pulmonologist David J. Feller-Kopman, MD. “This procedure really highlights our multi-disciplinary efforts to ensure that our patients are receiving the best possible care,” said Feller-Kopman, referring to Dartmouth Cancer Center’s highly trained, highly experienced surgical team, advanced practice providers, and administrative staff. “Their coordination and ability to collaborate across specialties make it possible to seamlessly combine complex procedures in one setting—ensuring everything runs smoothly from start to finish.”
About Dartmouth Cancer Center
Since 1972, Dartmouth Cancer Center (DCC) has combined groundbreaking and advanced cancer research at Dartmouth and the Geisel School of Medicine with award-winning, personalized, compassionate, patient-centered cancer care and clinical trials. At its flagship location at Dartmouth Health’s Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, with 14 locations across New Hampshire and Vermont, DCC is one of fewer than 60 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers nationally. Each year, DCC manages 74,000 appointments, treats more than 4,500 newly diagnosed patients, and currently offers more than 240 active clinical trials. DCC remains committed to excellence, outreach and education. DCC strives to create new knowledge and impact, accelerate integrated and collaborative research to prevent and cure cancer, enhance survivorship and promote cancer-related health equity. Learn more at cancer.dartmouth.edu.
About Dartmouth Health
Dartmouth Health, New Hampshire’s only academic health system and largest private employer, serves patients across New England. Dartmouth Health provides access to more than 2,300 providers in nearly every area of medicine, delivering care at its flagship hospital, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) in Lebanon, NH. Its network of hospitals, outpatient centers, clinics and home care facilities, spans a broad geographical area. Year after year, DHMC is named the #1 hospital in New Hampshire by U.S. News & World Report, and is consistently recognized for high performance in numerous clinical specialties and procedures. Dartmouth Health includes Dartmouth Cancer Center, northern New England’s only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers and one of less than than 60 total nationally; Dartmouth Health Children’s, which includes the state’s only children’s hospital (Children’s Hospital at DHMC/CHaD) and more than 20 locations around the region; eight member hospitals in Lebanon, Keene, Claremont, Hampstead, and New London, NH, and Windsor and Bennington, VT; Dartmouth Health Home Care; Dartmouth Health Connected Care Center for Telehealth, serving patients as far away as Texas; and more than 30 primary and multi-specialty clinics across New Hampshire and Vermont. Through its partnership with Dartmouth College, Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine and the White River Junction VA Medical Center, Dartmouth Health trains nearly 400 medical residents and fellows annually and performs cutting-edge research and clinical trials with international impact. Dartmouth Health and its more than 16,000 employees are committed to serving the healthcare needs of everyone in the communities it serves and to providing every patient with exceptional, state-of-the-art, personalized care. Learn more at dartmouth-health.org.