Ex-smoker breathes easier after robotic surgery

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Leta Roberts is a former long-time smoker who faced a possible diagnosis of lung cancer. She had undergone a procedure years ago to fix a collapsed lung, and was an unlikely candidate for another invasive operation to remove the potentially malignant mass in her chest.

RoboDoc to the rescue.

Florida Hospital surgeon Dr. Joseph Boyer is the first physician in Central Florida to perform a much less invasive form of thoracic, or lung, surgery using advanced robotic technology - among the growing number of robotic procedures being performed locally.

Much to Roberts' relief, the mass in her lungs was not cancerous. The operation even improved her lung capacity.

"I feel like I've been given another chance," said Roberts, a 55-year-old construction supervisor from Wauchula. "This is the most wonderful thing that ever happened to me."

Thoracic surgery, which refers to surgery on the lungs, esophagus or diaphragm, is typically performed when a potentially cancerous mass is identified by X-ray or other scanning devices. Previously, surgeons removed the mass or portions of the lung by cutting a patient open from the stomach and around to the back, and even breaking some ribs to gain access to the lungs.

Boyer performed the operation using the latest generation of the da Vinci Surgical System, allowing him to make a few half-inch to three-quarter-inch incisions. This not only allowed Roberts to have the surgery she would have otherwise not qualified for, but the minimally invasive procedure also resulted in less scarring, faster recovery and reduced pain.

The robotic technology allowed Boyer to see in high definition 3D, which helps him be more precise when performing a biopsy on delicate areas around the lungs.

"I've always had great interest in minimally invasive lung surgery," said Boyer, who was among the first in the state to use video-assisted surgery that involves inserting a long, thin tube with a camera attached and small surgical instruments into the chest through small cuts made between the ribs.

The da Vinci system, which world-renowned surgeon Dr. Vipul Patel of Florida Hospital's Celebration campus uses for prostate cancer surgery, employs an ergonomically designed console to operate four interactive robotic arms. Powered by state-of-the-art technology, the surgeon's hand movements are seamlessly translated into precise surgical movements.

Boyer was not only able to perform the minimally-invasive biopsy in Roberts' lung, but he also was able to remove air pockets called bullae, which form in areas of the lung damaged by complications from emphysema. As an air pocket grows, it takes up space in the chest cavity and can encroach on the lungs.

"Leta's air pockets were out of control and were compressing her lung," Boyer said. "The benefit of the surgery is not only improved lung capacity, but also function. Her prognosis is great. She does not have a malignancy, and we were able to fix her problems with her lung."

Even Roberts' daughter, Christie Ainsworth, who came from Texas to be in town for the surgery, said she's already seen a positive change in her mother.

"I was concerned because she's been sick for several years now, and had been getting worse," Ainsworth said. "She looks better now, even right after surgery, than she has the last five years. Her color is better, and she just seems like a new person."

Roberts, who was operated on this week and was expected to be released by Saturday, May 1, said she was ready to go back to work and looks forward to enjoying her two favorite pastimes: golfing and fishing.

"I'm thinking this is something that could actually give me a better quality of life," said Roberts. "All I know is, I feel like the luckiest person in the world."