Areas of Special Expertise

Lung Cancer Surgery

Surgery is the most important treatment option for patients with lung cancer because it provides the best hope for cure of this terrible disease. For patients and their families who are facing important decisions about lung cancer, the most important question is always: "Can I have surgery?" Do not leave this decision to an inexperienced surgeon, or assume that large institutions will assign the most experienced surgeons for every patient. Dr. Sommers has been operating to remove lung cancers for over twenty years. He has personally removed over one thousand lung cancers.

Every patient's situation is different but there are two main goals in every operation for lung cancer: the first is to achieve complete removal of the cancer, know as "complete resection". The second is to achieve complete resection using the appropriate technique that will minimize discomfort and pain based on the individual patient, their circumstance, and the stage and features of their cancer. Dr. Sommers has experience in the entire spectrum of surgical approaches to successfully achieve these goals. Our team has a long history of experience with minimally invasive techniques, such as video assisted thoracoscopic surgery (or VATS), as well as robotic assisted VATS resection such as lobectomy.

After reviewing your history, records, and personally viewing your x-rays and scans, Dr. Sommers will do a thorough exam and interview to determine the right approach for you. He will explain in detail why one approach would be best, and answer your questions. If surgery is not the best option for your situation, he will explain why. Every operation comes with risks and benefits, and Dr. Sommers will explain these concepts. He can provide each patient with a general prediction of these risks. Also, not every patient can have a minimally invasive type of surgery, and Dr. Sommers will explain why, if this is the case.

Many patients who have removal of their tumors will also require additional treatment either before or after their surgery. Communication between the doctors caring for these patients is essential. Do not assume that large institutions are the best way to get this kind of communication because every patient needs a local doctor to "quarterback" their care. Dr. Sommers has worked with hundreds of local physicians in Florida, and in most cases, he has met his patients' doctors personally or knows them from his 16 years of practice in Florida. Dr. Sommers has worked with patients and their doctors from Miami, Naples, the east coast of Florida, the Villages, and as far as Ocala and Tallahassee. Patients have traveled from Illinois, Michigan, Vermont, and Missouri and the entire Eastern seaboard to take advantage of his expertise in lung cancer surgery.