Articles

Foundation funds advanced technology for staging lung cancer
October 20, 2009

For decades, the generous support of our community has enabled BRCH Foundation to fund advanced technology for Boca Raton Community Hospital.

The most recent example of high-tech equipment purchased by the Foundation is Endobronchial Ultrasonography (EBUS). This new technology allows direct video visualization of the inside of the airway while at the same time giving the physician the ability to “see” further into the center of the chest , also know as the mediastinum.

According to Jonathan Waxman, MD, a Boca Raton Community Hospital thoracic surgeon specializing in lung cancer, “This new technology gives us the capability of real time biopsies of lymph nodes under accurate ultrasound guidance. This technique can be used to accurately stage lung cancer in respect to lymph node status, which is one of the important factors that affect prognosis and patient outcome. In addition, it can be used to biopsy other mediastinal masses that otherwise would have to undergo more aggressive procedures, with more risk and discomfort involved.”

The current “Gold Standard” for this kind of lymph node staging is the use of a surgical technique called mediastinoscopy, which involves an incision, general anesthesia and sometimes an overnight stay in the Hospital. With the use of endobronchial ultrasonography by a trained physician, the risk, the discomfort and cost of mediastinoscopy can be significantly reduced by eliminating the need for this surgical procedure.

Dr. Waxman noted that “At the Lynn Cancer Institute, we strive to achieve excellence in care by providing patients with the latest technology and techniques available to diagnose, stage and treat lung cancer and other thoracic malignancies, using minimally invasive approaches. The use of endobronchial ultrasonography compliments other minimally invasive approaches, including Endoscopic Transesophageal Ultrasound (EUS), Video Assisted Thorascopic Surgery (VATS) and Minimally Invasive Surgery for a variety of benign and malignant conditions of the chest.”