Bronchial thermoplasty is a bronchoscopic treatment for severe asthma. Controlled radiofrequency heat is applied to the airway walls to reduce the muscle that tightens during an attack.
Patients seeking asthma treatment in Mumbai at Apex are assessed for how severe the asthma is and how well they take their medicines. Thermoplasty is considered only in selected adults whose asthma remains uncontrolled despite the best inhaled medicines and other advanced therapies.
Treatment is given in three sessions, a few weeks apart, each under sedation or general anaesthesia. Patients stay in hospital for observation after each session.
How the Procedure Can Help
It can reduce the number of severe attacks and the need for emergency care in selected patients.
Risks and Considerations
Asthma symptoms can worsen for a few days after each session, with a risk of hospital admission. Other risks include infection and coughing blood. Benefit varies between patients, and inhalers are usually still needed.
Whole lung lavage washes out one lung at a time with warm saline while the other lung keeps the patient breathing. It is used mainly for pulmonary alveolar proteinosis, a rare condition in which the air sacs fill with protein-rich material.
Patients seeking lung disease treatment in Mumbai at Apex are assessed with CT, breathing tests and oxygen measurements. Lavage is advised when breathlessness or low oxygen levels are significant.
The procedure is done under general anaesthesia with a double-lumen breathing tube, and the patient is cared for in intensive care afterwards. Treatment may need to be repeated.
How the Procedure Can Help
It removes the material that fills the air sacs and can improve breathing and oxygen levels.
Risks and Considerations
Risks include low oxygen levels, fluid leaking into the other lung, infection and a collapsed lung. It needs general anaesthesia and intensive care support.
Pleurodesis causes the lung lining to stick to the chest wall, preventing fluid or air from collecting between them. A sterile agent such as talc is placed in the pleural space.
Patients looking for a lung specialist in Mumbai at Apex are assessed with chest imaging and earlier drainage results. Pleurodesis is advised when fluid continues to return, often because of cancer, or when a lung has collapsed repeatedly, and the lung can re-expand.
The procedure is done through a chest tube or during pleuroscopy, with pain relief and sedation. The tube stays in for a few days until drainage reduces, and patients stay in hospital during this time.
How the Procedure Can Help
It stops fluid or air from collecting in a large proportion of patients and reduces the need for repeated drainage.
Risks and Considerations
Risks include chest pain and fever for a few days, infection and a chance that the treatment does not work. New breathlessness or high fever afterwards requires urgent review.
An indwelling pleural catheter is a thin, soft tube placed under the skin and into the pleural space. The outer end stays outside the chest, and fluid is drained at home into a small vacuum bottle.
Patients looking for a pulmonologist in Mumbai at Apex are assessed with imaging and the pattern of fluid recurrence. An IPC is advised for people with recurrent fluid around the lung, especially from cancer, who prefer to avoid repeated hospital drainage.
The tube is placed with local anaesthesia and sedation, often as a day-care procedure. Patients and relatives are trained to drain fluid and care for the site, and the doctor sets how often to drain.
How the Procedure Can Help
It provides lasting relief from breathlessness and avoids repeated needle drainage and hospital admissions.
Risks and Considerations
Risks include infection around the tube or in the pleural space, blockage, pain and leakage. Redness, fever or pus at the site needs urgent review. The catheter can be removed once drainage stops.
An airway stent is a hollow tube of silicone or metal mesh placed inside a narrowed windpipe or bronchus to hold it open. Narrowing can come from tumours, scarring or a weak airway wall.
Patients seeking a chest specialist in Mumbai at Apex are assessed with CT and bronchoscopy to measure the narrowing. A stent is advised when breathlessness, noisy breathing or repeated infection result from airway blockage.
The stent is placed under general anaesthesia, often with a rigid bronchoscope, and patients usually stay in hospital for a day or two. A follow-up bronchoscopy checks the position and clears secretions.
How the Procedure Can Help
It restores airflow quickly and can relieve severe breathlessness.
Risks and Considerations
The stent can move, become blocked by mucus, cause tissue growth or infection, and needs regular follow-up. Sudden breathlessness or noisy breathing needs emergency care.
Rigid bronchoscopy uses a straight, hollow metal tube that is passed through the mouth into the windpipe under general anaesthesia. It allows the doctor to control the airway while treating it, and larger instruments can be passed through it.
Patients looking for a pulmonology hospital in Mumbai at Apex are assessed with imaging and examination. It is advised for serious airway blockage, large central tumours, a foreign body in the airway, heavy bleeding or when a stent is planned.
The procedure is done in an operating theatre, and patients are observed in hospital afterwards, often overnight. Recovery depends on the reason for the procedure.
It provides secure control of the airway and allows treatments that a flexible scope cannot manage.
Risks include sore throat, injury to teeth or lips, airway injury or bleeding and the risks of general anaesthesia. Breathing difficulty or heavy coughing of blood afterwards needs emergency care.
Cryotherapy uses extreme cold from a probe passed through a bronchoscope to freeze tissue. It can destroy tumours growing inside an airway, remove blood clots and mucus plugs, and take larger tissue biopsies.
Patients seeking lung disease treatment in Mumbai at Apex are assessed with CT and bronchoscopy. It is advised for tumours or scar tissue inside the airway, stuck clots or foreign bodies, and selected biopsies.
The procedure is done under sedation or general anaesthesia. Treated tissue comes away over the following days, so patients may cough up debris, and repeat sessions may be needed. Most patients go home within a day.
It clears airway blockage and gives larger tissue samples with less crushing of the tissue.
Risks and Considerations
Risks include bleeding, airway swelling, spasm of the airway and a small risk of a collapsed lung after biopsy. Heavy bleeding or worsening breathlessness needs urgent review.
Endobronchial valves are small one-way valves placed in the airways of a severely diseased part of the lung during bronchoscopy. Air can leave that area but cannot re-enter, so the area slowly deflates and the healthier lung has more room to work.
Patients looking for COPD treatment in Mumbai at Apex are assessed with breathing tests, a detailed CT and a review of their medicines. Valves are considered only in selected patients with severe emphysema and overinflated lungs who still have symptoms despite the best treatment.
The valves are placed under general anaesthesia or deep sedation. Patients stay in hospital for several days for monitoring, since lung collapse can occur early.
How the Procedure Can Help
It can improve breathlessness, exercise ability and quality of life in suitable patients.
Risks and Considerations
Collapse of the lung is common in the first days and needs hospital monitoring. The valve can also move, cause infection or need removal. Sudden chest pain or breathlessness after discharge needs emergency care.
