Young surgeon-to-be gets surprise visit from Chicago doctor
CHICAGO - A 6-year-old boy from Tennessee has already set his sights on a career as a thoracic surgeon, inspired by a doctor at Northwestern Medicine.
Kindergartner Luke Bucciarelli has always been fascinated by surgery, but when he came across a YouTube video of Dr. Sam Kim performing robotic lung cancer surgery, he couldn't stop watching.
"I want to be a thoracic surgeon because we need lungs to breathe, and when the lungs get sick, I want to help make people feel better," Luke said.
Luke has even taken his interest to the next level, practicing surgery on bananas using surgical tools borrowed from a retired surgeon friend. He also attended an educational event where he had the opportunity to try out a surgical robot.
"The da Vinci surgical robot that Dr. Kim uses for his cancer cases has different joystick levers, so it’s like watching a video game, which is very cool," Luke said.
Dr. Kim, a thoracic surgeon at Northwestern Medicine Canning Thoracic Institute, created the "Inside the OR" video to help patients feel more comfortable before surgery.
"With the video, we’re able to demystify the process and make patients feel more comfortable before surgery," Dr. Kim explained.
When Luke’s mother, Katherine Bucciarelli, learned of her son’s admiration for Dr. Kim, she reached out to Northwestern Medicine. To her surprise, Dr. Kim not only responded but also surprised Luke with a virtual tour of his operating room.
"Dr. Kim called Luke via FaceTime and took him virtually inside his operating room, letting Luke see the surgical robot up close and personal," Katherine said. "Dr. Kim also told us that if we’re ever in Chicago, we need to stop by Northwestern Memorial Hospital and he would give us a personal tour."
Dr. Kim was equally enthusiastic about the opportunity to inspire a young mind.
"I don’t have a lot of fans who are six years old, but when I heard that a kindergartner from Tennessee was watching our robotic lung cancer surgery video and it inspired him to one day become a thoracic surgeon, I knew I wanted to do something special for him," Dr. Kim said.