Members: Dostal, Carlos; Dotimas, James; Edwards, Elizabeth; Frudden, Hannah; Gallardo, Jose

Lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS) minimizes hyperinflation and has been proven to improve the quality of life and lung function in emphysema patients. When successful, the lung parenchyma distal to the obstruction becomes collapsed, resulting in reduced or absent gas exchange and thereby creating lung volume reduction. 

However, many patients have lungs with interlobar collateral ventilation, i.e. collateral ventilation between lobes. Interlobar collateral ventilation prevents the intended complete occlusion effect by maintaining airflow via the collateral channels. These patients with interlobar CV (CV+) have limited options for an effective endoscopic lung volume reduction (ELVR).

Bronchoscopic thermal vapor ablation (BTVA) is a unique approach to ELVR that is capable of inducing volume reduction at the segmental level. Most patients have highly diseased and relatively healthy segments within the same lobe. Vapor is capable of reducing only the highly diseased segments while preserving the remaining segments.

The results of the current study show that BTVA can achieve safe and clinically meaningful improvement in pulmonary function and quality of life in patients with CV and offers evidence that BTVA could be a viable solution for CV+ patients.

Study:

References:

https://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/452424#