Today that dream has become a reality.
Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related mortality in the western hemisphere.
Every year there are approximately 170,000 new cases of lung cancer in the United States. This dismal survival statistic is due, in part, to late diagnosis and treatment. In fact, greater than half the patients are stage III and IV at time of diagnosis, with locally and systemically advanced disease. The most direct means of diagnosing lung cancer is with surgical removal and biopsy of lung tissue. VATS is minimally invasive, performed using three one inch incisions on the chest, resulting in significantly less morbidity and mortality when compared to a thoracotomy.