Baton Rouge General to train staff on new innovative technology
BATON ROUGE, La (BRPROUD) — Baton Rouge General has new state-of-the-art lung cancer-fighting technology. The hospital is among the first in the United States and the first in Louisiana to use the Monarch.
According to the CDC, lung cancer is one of the leading types of cancer deaths worldwide. Baton Rouge General Chief of Critical Care and Pulmonology Dr. Stephen Brierre said this is because there are no symptoms in its early stages.
“Technology has given us so many tools to fight horrible diseases. If we can catch it before symptoms, it’s at an earlier stage, and if it’s an earlier stage, we can cure it with surgery,” said Brierre.
The Monarch uses robotics, data science, and small cameras and tools to enter the body through its natural openings. It will be used to see inside lungs to diagnose nodules or hard-to-reach abnormal tissue growth.
“For some people, in whom we discover an abnormality, on their chest x-rays or CAT scans, they will have that abnormality in a part of the lung that we cannot get to with standard technology,” said Brierre
With a 20-30 minute procedure, Dr. Brierre said the Monarch will provide a safer, quicker diagnosis — cutting out the time that patients would normally remain in care.
“They would be in the hospital anywhere from three to five days, they would need tubes to help reexpand the lung after the surgery, which is painful,” said Dr. Brierre.
Brierre said the new device is a game-changer for Baton Rouge General, and physicians will begin training on the Monarch soon. Patient procedures are set to start in November.
Gloss