Commentary by Mr Lawrence Okiror, Consultant Thoracic and Robotic Surgeon at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. Short, evidence-anchored pieces on the questions facing lung cancer surgery and the thoracic pathway — written for colleagues, referrers and anyone trying to make sense of a fast-moving field.
Two studies this month seem to reach opposite verdicts on medical AI. They do not: one tests the models on their own, the other against the products built for doctors. What neither measures is the judgement that decides who should have an operation.
Read → 13 June 2026A screening scan that finds a nodule sets off a sequence the patient never sees. A new Society of Thoracic Surgeons consensus, and fast-moving evidence on biopsy, are redrawing the surgeon's first job — from operating to find out, to making sure no one has to.
Read → 11 June 2026The government has pledged £20 million to put AI chest X-ray into every NHS trust by 2029. The LungIMPACT trial shows why a faster reading does not become a faster diagnosis — and why better detection lands, ultimately, on the surgical pathway.
Read → 11 June 2026Lung volume reduction surgery still carries the reputation it earned in 2003: dangerous, narrow, a last resort. Modern selection, imaging and recovery have moved the operation on — and the reputation has not kept up.
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