The lung cancer resection surgery program at NGHS recently earned top ratings from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, placing it among the highest-performing 5% to 10% of thoracic surgery centers nationwide.
The report, drawn from STS’ General Thoracic Surgery Database, includes data from 2023–2025. NGHS’ program scored “Better Than Expected” in the “Overall” category as well as a separate category that tracks the absence of major surgical complications. The STS “Better Than Expected” designation is a rare achievement attained by only 32 hospitals in the United States.
“The accomplishment is a testament to NGHS’ investment in pioneering robotic surgery so that our patients can have access to the highest-quality, most advanced care available,” said Karen Gersch, MD, a cardiothoracic surgeon with Northeast Georgia Physicians Group (NGPG) Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgery. “It also reflects the tremendous teamwork required to deliver exceptional thoracic oncology and robotic thoracic surgery care, including the contributions of nursing, anesthesia, operating room staff, pulmonology, interventional pulmonology, medical oncology, radiation oncology, radiology, administration and perioperative services.”
The lung cancer resection surgery program at NGHS is led by Dr. Gersch. Since June 2023, Dr. Gersch and her team have performed 100% of lung resection surgeries using a robotic surgical system. Among centers nationwide, only about 68% of these surgeries are performed robotically.
“By combining advanced technology with a highly coordinated approach, we’re able to precisely target and remove lung nodules or tumors through minimally invasive robotic surgery – resulting in less pain, smaller scars and faster recovery for our patients,” said Dr. Gersch