Interventional Pulmonology

Advance Treatment For Interventional Pulmonology In Delhi

The Interventional Pulmonology Unit at BLK-Max Centre for Chest & Respiratory diseases offers advanced, minimally invasive diagnosis and treatment options for various disorders related to thoracic and pulmonary diseases. The experts at the Unit provide comprehensive care for airway diseases, lung cancer and pleural effusions, and an advanced treatment approach for benign lung diseases like emphysema and asthma.

Considered as a new field of pulmonary medicine, Interventional Pulmonology focuses on the use of advanced diagnostic and therapeutic techniques to treat patients with various disorders related to lungs, airway and pleural diseases.

The Interventional Pulmonologists work closely with a multidisciplinary team, including thoracic surgeons, cancer specialists and pathologists to develop an individualised treatment plan for each patient by evaluating their current medical condition.

Which Conditions Are Treated Under Interventional Pulmonology at BLK-Max?

Some of the major conditions that are treated under Interventional Pulmonology include:

Tuberculosis (TB)
Amyloidosis
Lung Cancer
Carcinoid Tumours
Endobronchial Tumours
Tracheomalacia
Airway Stricture (due to benign and malignant causes)
Compressed Airways
Congenital Airway Stenosis
FibrosingMediastinitis
Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis
Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis (Wegener's Granulomatosis)
Relapsing Polychondritis

Who Is a Right Candidate for Treatment?

A patient suffering from chronic respiratory problems requires instant attention and extensive evaluations. The Unit offers comprehensive treatment for conditions such as:

Chronic cough
Coughing up blood (haemoptysis)
Abnormal chest X-rays
Lung and chest cancer
Pleural effusion (liquid around the lungs)
Persistent respiratory failure (requiring tracheostomy placement and management)

A doctor might recommend minimally invasive surgery as a treatment for the above-mentioned conditions.

What Are the Various Treatment Procedures Involved in Interventional Pulmonology?

Some of the advanced treatment options that come under Interventional Pulmonology involve:

Endobronchial Ultrasound (EBUS) - Endobronchial Ultrasound (EBUS) is a minimally invasive but highly effective procedure used to diagnose lung cancer, infections, and other diseases causing enlarged lymph nodes in the chest. EBUS allows physicians to perform Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC) that is used to sample superficial masses from deep-seated thoracic lymph nodes and tumours. The procedure also helps in staging of cancers to know whether the patient is operable or inoperable. Experts also perform EBUS during follow-ups to check metastatic or infective etiology in patients.
Flexible Bronchoscopy - It is a video-assisted Interventional Pulmonology procedure that involves the use of a flexible endoscope (bronchoscope) for Transbronchial Lung Biopsy (TBLB)/Transbronchial Needle Aspiration (TBNA)/foreign body removal/diagnostic and therapeutic interventions. The surgeon advances the bronchoscope with a camera on its top, through the airways in each lung to diagnose the problem. The camera displays the images from inside the lung on a video screen, using which a doctor can perform several other Interventional Pulmonology procedures, such as:
1. Bronchoscopic Electrocautery: It involves the use of various instruments like hot forceps, snare and knife powered by cautery that passes through a bronchoscope in lung and is used for diagnosing and treating endobronchial (within the airways) obstructive lesions such as benign tumours, tracheobronchial stenosis, lung cancers and subglottic stenosis.
2. Bronchoscopic Argon Plasma Coagulation (APC): An application that involves the use of heat produced by argon gas to coagulate tissue near the tumour, without touching the tumour.
3. Bronchoscopic Cryotherapy: A procedure that involves the use of extreme sub-degree temperature to ablate/remove granulation tissue from stents or anastomoses, malignant airway tumours and treat a variety of benign disorders.
4. Bronchoscopic Thermoplastic: An Interventional Pulmonology procedure that is used to treat cases of severe asthma which can’t be controlled through medication. A doctor applies a heat probe to the walls of the airways, thereby destroying the smooth muscle layers whose constriction causesasthma symptoms.
5. Bronchoscopic Laser Ablation: An application used to remove trachea-bronchial tumours, trachea-bronchial stenosis, subglottic stenosis using a laser beam with a high degree of precision.
6. Tracheobronchial Stenting: This procedure involves the use of a stent that is placed inside the airway via bronchoscope to keep them open. The obstruction in the airways can be caused by cancers or benign diseases like tracheal, sub-glottic stenosis and trachea-oesophageal fistula.
Rigid Bronchoscopy: -It is specially designed for patients who are not amenable for fibre optic bronchoscopy. It is used for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes including tumour removal, foreign body removal and stenting.
Pleural Aspiration: - In this process, the fluid accumulated outside the lungs in the chest cavity is extracted out using a cannula/needle for therapeutic benefit or diagnosis of pleural diseases
Pleurodesis: - It is a procedure performed over people with the problem of recurrent pleural effusions (fluid around the lungs). A doctor will put a small tube inside a chest cavity and spray a chemical around the lungs. Over time the inflamed lung lining (pleura) will stick tightly to the chest wall, thereby preventing fluid from re-accumulating around the lung.
Medical Thoracoscopy / Pleuroscopy: - It is a procedure used to diagnose some conditions of the pleura (lining of the lung). The pleural space (inside the chest) is examined using athoracoscope/pleuroscope. It allows the viewing of the outside edges of the lung, which is not possible with bronchoscopy.