A Metairie hospital is now using a one-incision robotic system to remove lung cancer, marking a Gulf South first that could reduce the surgical footprint for some patients. The new approach is arriving in a state where lung cancer is diagnosed later and treated surgically less often than national averages.
LCMC Health said the procedure was performed at East Jefferson General Hospital in partnership with Tulane University School of Medicine. Thoracic surgeon Dr. Wassim Abi Jaoude used the da Vinci Single-Port system to remove a patient’s lung cancer, and the health system said the patient was cancer-free afterward, according to New Orleans CityBusiness.
Unlike traditional robotic lung surgery, which typically uses several entry points, the single-port approach allows surgeons to work through one small incision. LCMC said that can mean less pain, a quicker recovery and, for many patients, a hospital stay of less than 24 hours instead of the more typical two to four days.
Why The New Surgery Matters In Louisiana
The technology is landing amid a stubborn lung-cancer burden. The American Lung Association reported that Louisiana’s lung-cancer incidence rate was 61.13 cases per 100,000 people, compared with 52.8 nationally, while only 25% of cases were diagnosed early, versus 28.1% nationwide.
Louisiana also ranked below the national average for surgery as the first course of treatment, with 16.5% of patients receiving it compared with 20.7% nationally, the Lung Association reported. That does not mean robotic surgery is appropriate for every diagnosis: The National Cancer Institute says treatment decisions depend on factors including cancer stage, tumor type, overall health and whether the disease has spread.
The new lung procedure builds on East Jefferson’s growing use of robotic tools. In 2024, the hospital announced a robotic-assisted bronchoscopy suite designed to help doctors biopsy hard-to-reach lung nodules with real-time imaging, calling the setup one of only a handful of its kind in the country, according to East Jefferson General Hospital.
LCMC Health said East Jefferson is already performing one or two single-port robotic procedures each week across specialties, including urology and head and neck surgery. The system plans to expand the technology across more specialties and hospitals, a push that could make the Metairie campus an increasingly important destination for advanced surgical care in the region, CityBusiness reported.
