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Sunshine Coast University Private Hospital brings robotic-assisted lung surgery to the region

Oct 26, 2026

Sunshine Coast University Private Hospital has introduced the region’s first robotic-assisted thoracic surgery, with its first procedure treating a woman with lung cancer.

Cardiothoracic surgeon Dr Jeff Macemon used the da Vinci surgical system to remove the lower lobe of the 68-year-old woman’s left lung.

Experienced robotic thoracic surgeon Dr David Low travelled from New South Wales to provide specialist guidance during the procedure.

Dr Macemon said the introduction of robotic technology represented an exciting evolution of the hospital’s established minimally invasive thoracic surgery program.

“The technology combines highly magnified, three-dimensional vision with sophisticated articulated instruments, providing exceptional precision and freedom of movement when operating around delicate blood vessels and other critical structures.”

While minimally invasive thoracic surgery already has the potential to offer benefits over traditional open surgery, including less postoperative pain, shorter hospital stays and faster recovery, robotic technology may provide additional capabilities beyond conventional keyhole instruments.

“The robot doesn’t perform the operation, the surgeon does. What this technology has is an extraordinary level of control and dexterity, potentially allowing us to undertake increasingly complex procedures through minimally invasive approaches,” Dr Macemon said. 

Minimally invasive lung surgery may offer suitable patients less pain, shorter hospital stays and faster recovery compared with traditional open surgery. Robotic assistance adds to the tools available to surgeons performing these procedures.

Dr Macemon acknowledged Dr Low’s expertise and mentorship, together with the outstanding contribution of the surgical, anaesthetic and nursing teams in establishing the new service.

Sunshine Coast University Private Hospital CEO, Kelly Grant, said the new service expanded the specialised surgical care available to Sunshine Coast residents.

“A lung cancer diagnosis can be a difficult time for patients and their families. Being able to access specialised surgery locally can help ease some of the practical pressures of travelling for treatment,” Ms Grant said.

Ramsay Health Care’s investment in robotic technology is giving our specialists more options to treat patients using less invasive techniques, with the potential for less pain and a faster recovery.”

The new service expands the hospital’s robotic surgery program, which began in 2017 with urology and gynaecology procedures.