Using the Hybrid Operating Room in Thoracic Surgery: A Paradigm Shift.

Area of Science:

• Thoracic Surgery
• Medical Imaging
• Interventional Pulmonology

Background:

• General thoracic surgery often faces challenges in diagnosing and treating small or deep-seated lesions.
• Current diagnostic and treatment pathways can be lengthy, potentially leading to disease upstaging and reduced survival rates.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the integration of hybrid operating room cone-beam computed tomography (CT) technology into general thoracic surgery.
• To evaluate the feasibility of a single-stage, single-provider procedure combining diagnosis and treatment.

Main Methods:

• Integration of cone-beam CT scan augmented navigational bronchoscopy.
• Utilization of cone-beam CT-guided percutaneous biopsy and/or fiducial placement.
• Fiducial or image-guided video-assisted thoracic surgery resection within a hybrid operating room setting.

Main Results:

• The described approach enables a single-stage, single-provider procedure for diagnosis and treatment.
• Rapid on-site evaluation of specimens is crucial for the "all-in-one" workflow.
• Significant reduction in time from diagnosis to curative treatment, leading to decreased upstaging and increased survival.

Conclusions:

• Hybrid operating room cone-beam CT technology streamlines thoracic surgery by combining diagnostic and therapeutic interventions.
• This integrated approach facilitates the detection and resection of challenging small and deep lesions.
• The technology offers a cost-effective paradigm for improved thoracic healthcare delivery.