This week, Providence Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Tarzana announced it was the first in the San Fernando Valley to offer a new technology used to detect lung cancer early.

Providence Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, the renowned Tarzana hospital, announced its use of a new robotic technology for lung cancer detection as the first of its kind in the Valley.

“(Keith Eskow) was tapped to be the first patient in the San Fernando Valley and neighboring communities to undergo a robotic-assisted pulmonary lobectomy to remove what was found to be a very aggressive cancer, known as small cell lung cancer,” Cedars-Sinai officials said.

The robotic-assisted pulmonary lobectomy was decided to be extremely effective in detecting small cell lung cancer, preventing the spreading of the cancer cells before too late.

“Thoracic surgeon Andrew Brownlee, M.D., performed this potentially life-saving surgery at Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center and sent the patient home in just two days,” officials said. “Without that initial screening, the stage 1 cancer likely would have spread quickly and resulted in a dire prognosis. Instead, Eskow is enormously relieved as he recovers at home.”

The new technological procedure uses smaller incisions, leading to limited pain and shorter recovery times. It also is said to result in fewer complications than traditional open surgeries, according to Dr. Brownlee.

“He’s doing great,” said Dr. Brownlee about Eskow, after removing the cancerous lobe from Eskow’s right lung.

Dr. Brownlee added that the technology was an upgrade to a procedure that often relies on instruments that are older and not nearly as advanced.

“The robot is like an iPhone or Tesla. You get constant upgrades to the software that expands what the platform can be used for,” Dr. Brownlee said. “In many other surgeries, you use the same instruments people used 50 years ago.”

This new procedure is referred to as an example of the shared expertise across Providence hospitals and their partners to raise patient care levels. 

Dr. Brownlee, on staff at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, was proctored by Harmik Soukiasian, M.D., chief of thoracic surgery and vice chairman of Cedars-Sinai’s Department of Surgery, clinical outreach.

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