October 2025

PULMONARY

FIRST HEALTH SYSTEM IN ILLINOIS TO PERFORM SINGLE-INCISION ROBOTIC THORACIC PROCEDURES

Featuring: Samuel S. Kim, MD
Northwestern Medicine is the first health system in Illinois to adopt the da Vinci SP (Single Port) surgical system for thoracic surgery, a significant advance in minimally invasive thoracic care. The FDA recently approved the surgical system for thoracic and chest cases. It can be used for procedures such as thymectomy, lobectomy and other chest surgeries.

“It allows us to perform minimally invasive operations using one single port with a small incision, opposed to previously using several different ports at the same time with multiple incisions,” says Samuel S. Kim, MD.

With the this innovative surgical system, Dr. Kim can make a single two-to-three-inch incision in the abdomen area, which causes less pain. The robot was designed to improve recovery and help patients return to their normal activities sooner.
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“For patients who have received this new type of procedure, their recovery has been much faster and less painful, allowing them to get home and get back to work easier,” explains Dr. Kim. “It’s especially a great option for elderly and more frail patients because it decreases their risk of falling post-surgery since they have a reduced need for opioid pain medications.” 
Samuel S. Kim, MD, Director of Robotic Thoracic Surgery at Northwestern Medicine Canning Thoracic Institute, Professor of Thoracic Surgery and Pulmonary and Critical Care

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