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Bronchoscopic Lung Volume Reduction
Bronchoscopic lung volume reduction (BLVR) is a procedure to reduce the volume of air within the lungs. BLVR was initially developed in the early 2000s as a minimally invasive treatment for severe COPD that is primarily caused by emphysema. BLVR evolved from earlier surgical approaches first developed in the 1950s to reduce lung volume by removing damaged portions of the lungs via pneumonectomy or wedge resection. Procedures include the use of valves, coils, or thermal vapour ablation. Procedures BLVR involves the use of valves, coils, or thermal vapour ablation. Valves Endobronchial valves are inserted using a bronchoscope into sections of the lungs damaged by emphysema. Endobronchial valves are medical devices that allow air to exit these sections but not to re-enter. The valves, in effect, cause damaged lung tissue to deflate, thereby reducing the excessive lung volume (hyperinflation) caused by emphysema. Two endobronchial valves have been approved by the FDA for BLVR: Zep ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lung Volumes
Lung volumes and lung capacities refer to the volume of air in the lungs at different phases of the respiratory cycle. The average total lung capacity of an adult human male is about 6 litres of air. Tidal breathing is normal, resting breathing; the tidal volume is the volume of air that is inhaled or exhaled in only a single such breath. The average human respiratory rate is 30–60 breaths per minute at birth, decreasing to 12–20 breaths per minute in adults. Factors affecting volumes Several factors affect lung volumes; some can be controlled, and some cannot be controlled. Lung volumes vary with different people as follows: A person who is born and lives at sea level will develop a slightly smaller lung capacity than a person who spends their life at a high altitude. This is because the partial pressure of oxygen is lower at higher altitude which, as a result means that oxygen less readily diffuses into the bloodstream. In response to higher altitude, the body's diffu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lung
The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in humans and most other animals, including some snails and a small number of fish. In mammals and most other vertebrates, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of the heart. Their function in the respiratory system is to extract oxygen from the air and transfer it into the bloodstream, and to release carbon dioxide from the bloodstream into the atmosphere, in a process of gas exchange. Respiration is driven by different muscular systems in different species. Mammals, reptiles and birds use their different muscles to support and foster breathing. In earlier tetrapods, air was driven into the lungs by the pharyngeal muscles via buccal pumping, a mechanism still seen in amphibians. In humans, the main muscle of respiration that drives breathing is the diaphragm. The lungs also provide airflow that makes vocal sounds including human speech possible. Humans have two lungs, one on the left and on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a type of progressive lung disease characterized by long-term respiratory symptoms and airflow limitation. The main symptoms include shortness of breath and a cough, which may or may not produce mucus. COPD progressively worsens, with everyday activities such as walking or dressing becoming difficult. While COPD is incurable, it is preventable and treatable. The two most common conditions of COPD are emphysema and chronic bronchitis and they have been the two classic COPD phenotypes. Emphysema is defined as enlarged airspaces ( alveoli) whose walls have broken down resulting in permanent damage to the lung tissue. Chronic bronchitis is defined as a productive cough that is present for at least three months each year for two years. Both of these conditions can exist without airflow limitation when they are not classed as COPD. Emphysema is just one of the structural abnormalities that can limit airflow and can exist without ai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Emphysema
Emphysema, or pulmonary emphysema, is a lower respiratory tract disease, characterised by air-filled spaces ( pneumatoses) in the lungs, that can vary in size and may be very large. The spaces are caused by the breakdown of the walls of the alveoli and they replace the spongy lung parenchyma. This reduces the total alveolar surface available for gas exchange leading to a reduction in oxygen supply for the blood. Emphysema usually affects the middle aged or older population because it takes time to develop with the effects of tobacco smoking, and other risk factors. Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency is a genetic risk factor that may lead to the condition presenting earlier. When associated with significant airflow limitation, emphysema is a major subtype of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a progressive lung disease characterized by long-term breathing problems and poor airflow. Without COPD, the finding of emphysema on a CT lung scan still confers a higher mortality r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pneumonectomy
A pneumonectomy (or pneumectomy) is a surgical procedure to remove a lung first successfully done in 1933 by Dr. Evarts Graham. This is not to be confused with a lobectomy or segmentectomy, which only removes one part of the lung. There are two types of pneumonectomy, simple and extra pleural. A simple pneumonectomy removes just the lung. An extra pleural pneumonectomy take away part of the diaphragm, the parietal pleura, and the pericardium on that side as well. Indications The most common reason for a pneumonectomy is to remove tumourous tissue arising from lung cancer. Other reasons can arise are a traumatic lung injury, bronchiectasis, tuberculosis, a congenital defect, and fungal infections. Contraindications Tests The operation will reduce the respiratory capacity of the patient and before conducting a pneumonectomy, survivability after the removal has to be assessed. If at all possible, a pulmonary function test (PFT) should be done prior. It has been found that fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wedge Resection (lung)
Wedge resection of the lung is a surgical operation where a part of a lung is removed. It is done to remove a localized portion of diseased lung, such as early stage lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, malign .... References Lung cancer Surgical oncology Surgical removal procedures Pulmonary thoracic surgery {{surgery-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endobronchial Valve
An endobronchial valve (EBV), is a small, one-way valve, which may be implanted in an airway feeding the lung or part of lung. The valve allows air to be breathed out of the section of lung supplied, and prevents air from being breathed in. This leaves the rest of the lung to expand more normally and avoid air-trapping. Endobronchial valves are typically implanted using a flexible delivery catheter advanced through a bronchoscope in minimally invasive bronchoscopic lung volume reduction procedures in the treatment of severe emphysema. The valves are also removable if they are not working properly. Mechanism The one-way endobronchial valve is typically implanted such that on exhalation air is able to flow through the valve and out of the lung compartment that is fed by that airway, but on inhalation, the valve closes and blocks air from entering that lung compartment. Thus, an implanted endobronchial valve typically helps a lung compartment to empty itself of air. This has been sh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endobronchial Valve
An endobronchial valve (EBV), is a small, one-way valve, which may be implanted in an airway feeding the lung or part of lung. The valve allows air to be breathed out of the section of lung supplied, and prevents air from being breathed in. This leaves the rest of the lung to expand more normally and avoid air-trapping. Endobronchial valves are typically implanted using a flexible delivery catheter advanced through a bronchoscope in minimally invasive bronchoscopic lung volume reduction procedures in the treatment of severe emphysema. The valves are also removable if they are not working properly. Mechanism The one-way endobronchial valve is typically implanted such that on exhalation air is able to flow through the valve and out of the lung compartment that is fed by that airway, but on inhalation, the valve closes and blocks air from entering that lung compartment. Thus, an implanted endobronchial valve typically helps a lung compartment to empty itself of air. This has been sh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bronchoscopy
Bronchoscopy is an endoscopic technique of visualizing the inside of the airways for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. An instrument (bronchoscope) is inserted into the airways, usually through the nose or mouth, or occasionally through a tracheostomy. This allows the practitioner to examine the patient's airways for abnormalities such as foreign bodies, bleeding, tumors, or inflammation. Specimens may be taken from inside the lungs. The construction of bronchoscopes ranges from rigid metal tubes with attached lighting devices to flexible optical fiber instruments with realtime video equipment. History The German laryngologist Gustav Killian is attributed with performing the first bronchoscopy in 1897. Killian used a rigid bronchoscope to remove a pork bone. The procedure was done in an awake patient using topical cocaine as a local anesthetic. From this time until the 1970s, rigid bronchoscopes were used exclusively. Chevalier Jackson, refined the rigid bronchoscope in the 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Medical Device
A medical device is any device intended to be used for medical purposes. Significant potential for hazards are inherent when using a device for medical purposes and thus medical devices must be proved safe and effective with reasonable assurance before regulating governments allow marketing of the device in their country. As a general rule, as the associated risk of the device increases the amount of testing required to establish safety and efficacy also increases. Further, as associated risk increases the potential benefit to the patient must also increase. Discovery of what would be considered a medical device by modern standards dates as far back as c. 7000 BC in Baluchistan where Neolithic dentists used flint-tipped drills and bowstrings. Study of archeology and Roman medical literature also indicate that many types of medical devices were in widespread use during the time of ancient Rome. In the United States it wasn't until the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (F ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Catheter
In medicine, a catheter (/ˈkæθətər/) is a thin tube made from medical grade materials serving a broad range of functions. Catheters are medical devices that can be inserted in the body to treat diseases or perform a surgical procedure. Catheters are manufactured for specific applications, such as cardiovascular, urological, gastrointestinal, neurovascular and ophthalmic procedures. The process of inserting a catheter is ''catheterization''. In most uses, a catheter is a thin, flexible tube (''soft'' catheter) though catheters are available in varying levels of stiffness depending on the application. A catheter left inside the body, either temporarily or permanently, may be referred to as an "indwelling catheter" (for example, a peripherally inserted central catheter). A permanently inserted catheter may be referred to as a "permcath" (originally a trademark). Catheters can be inserted into a body cavity, duct, or vessel, brain, skin or adipose tissue. Functionally, they all ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spirometry
Spirometry (meaning ''the measuring of breath'') is the most common of the pulmonary function tests (PFTs). It measures lung function, specifically the amount (volume) and/or speed (flow) of air that can be inhaled and exhaled. Spirometry is helpful in assessing breathing patterns that identify conditions such as asthma, pulmonary fibrosis, cystic fibrosis, and COPD. It is also helpful as part of a system of health surveillance, in which breathing patterns are measured over time. Spirometry generates pneumotachographs, which are charts that plot the volume and flow of air coming in and out of the lungs from one inhalation and one exhalation. Indications Spirometry is indicated for the following reasons: * to diagnose or manage asthma * to detect respiratory disease in patients presenting with symptoms of breathlessness, and to distinguish respiratory from cardiac disease as the cause * to measure bronchial responsiveness in patients suspected of having asthma * to diagnose and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
