Baptist Health Care : Cardiothoracic Services

Cardiothoracic surgery is the field of medicine involved in surgical treatment of diseases affecting the thorax (the chest), lungs (lung disease) as related to conditions of the heart (heart disease).
Cardiothoracic surgery involves any operation of the chest or thoracic cavity, including surgery of the heart and lungs. Cardiothoracic surgeons (physicians who provide surgery for and lung conditions) often perform cardiothoracic surgery to remove tumors from the chest cavity and to repair traumatic injuries to the chest.

Robotic Lung Surgery
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among both men and women. In fact, more people die of lung cancer than of colon, breast and prostate cancers combined. With research estimating more than 200,000 Americans will be diagnosed with lung cancer this year, advances in lung surgery are now more important than ever.

By combining advanced robotic technology with experienced, skilled surgeons, Baptist Health Care has transformed the experience of lung surgery from an open-chest operation to a minimally invasive surgery for residents of northwest Florida.

Traditional lung cancer surgery requires a large incision, 8 to10 inches, and commonly results in blood loss as well as a lengthy recovery. Now, Baptist Health Care offers da Vinci S HD® Surgical System pulmonary lobectomy, a new, minimally invasive procedure to treat your lung cancer.

For the majority of patients, da Vinci pulmonary lobectomy provides multiple benefits over traditional options including:

Less pain
Fewer complications
Three to four dime-sized incisions
Decreased blood loss
Faster recovery
Quicker return to daily activities

“Almost three months ago, I had robotic lung surgery to remove a part of my lung due to cancer,” said Kenneth J. Norcross. “I was confident I would get through this because I trusted my doctor and Baptist with my cancer care.”