LeClaire Nurse First to Benefit from new Lung Surgery Procedure
LECLAIRE, Iowa (KWQC) – A nurse from LeClaire was the first lung-surgery patient to undergo a new procedure at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago.
Tonni Richard’s doctor converted her CT scan into a 3D model that was then integrated directly into an advanced surgical robot using new state-of-the-art technology.
The technology confirmed it was possible to perform a rare procedure for Richard that would get rid of the cancer and keep most of her lung intact-something that wouldn’t have been possible years ago.
The 65-year-old retired Army nurse dedicated her life to caring for others, serving as an Army nurse for two decades, then in hospice and orthopedics. However, her newfound passion for pilates led her to a life-saving finding.
Discovery during routine care
“I had been doing pilates for about a year when I developed some muscle spasms in the right side of my back.I went to my physician, and he did a scan and found a small neuroendocrine tumor in the right lower lobe of my lung,” Richard said.
The surgeon told Richard that they’d need to remove the entire lower lobe of her lung,