Pulmonology
Experts in diagnosing and treating respiratory illnesses.
SSM Health pulmonologists provide consultation, diagnosis, and care for illnesses and conditions that affect breathing and the lungs. When you can't breathe, it impacts every aspect of your life. At SSM Health we are committed to providing you with exceptional care to help improve your life and give you the freedom to live the way you want.
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Living life to the fullest may seem out of reach when you have a condition that makes breathing difficult. SSM Health has experts to let you have an active life.
Our pulmonary rehab program was developed as a way to help you heal and strengthen your lungs through the structured use of exercise, education and counseling.
Why choose SSM Health for pulmonology care?
Our pulmonologists work closely with primary care physicians and other specialists, like sleep medicine and oncology, to provide comprehensive care for our patients. Using advanced medical technologies, our pulmonologists provide in-clinic evaluations and treatment, inpatient critical care, consultations for hospitalized patients, and sleep clinic evaluations and therapies. Conditions pulmonology experts treat can include:
- Allergic diseases that affect breathing
- Asthma
- Chronic cough
- Complicated chest infections
- Complex airway stenoses
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- Emphysema
- Interstitial lung disease
- Lung cancer
- Pulmonary hypertension
- Respiratory insufficiency
- Respiratory problems caused by cystic fibrosis
- Severe asthma
- Sleep apnea
- Sleep disorders
- Smoking cessation
- Tuberculosis
- Unexplained dyspnea
What is bronchial thermoplasty?
For the estimated two million adults with severe asthma who have asthma-related symptoms despite standard of care medications, bronchial thermoplasty (BT) may help provide better control of symptoms.
How does bronchial thermoplasty work?
The lungs consist of multiple airway passages that are surrounded by airway smooth muscle. For people with asthma, this airway smooth muscle is more susceptible to triggers and irritants that can cause it to constrict and reduce the amount of air that flows through the lungs. BT uses a small catheter to deliver controlled energy to the airways of the lung to reduce the amount of airway smooth muscle. This reduction decreases the muscle's ability to constrict the airways, resulting in a decreased frequency and severity of asthma attacks.
Bronchial thermoplasty is performed as an outpatient procedure over three sessions, typically scheduled three weeks apart, each treating a different part of the lung. During each session, the BT device applies mild heat to the muscles in your airway through a bronchoscope inserted through the nose or mouth. The sessions are usually performed under moderate sedation and take less than an hour to complete. Once the three sessions have been performed, the treatment is complete, and most patients return to their regular asthma-treating physician for regular, ongoing management of their asthma.
What are the benefits of bronchial thermoplasty?
BT is clinically proven to reduce :
- The frequency of severe asthma attacks
- Asthma-related emergency room visits
- The use of oral steroid treatments
- Days lost from work, school, and daily activities due to asthma
BT isn’t the right choice for everyone. As with any procedure, there are risks, including a temporary increase and worsening of respiratory-related symptoms immediately after the procedure that could require hospitalization.
If you are over 18 and suffer from moderate to severe asthma, make an appointment with your SSM Health physician to discuss whether bronchial thermoplasty could help you control asthma symptoms and improve your quality of life.
What is interventional pulmonology?
Interventional pulmonology (IP), an area of pulmonary medicine, focusing on using advanced, minimally invasive procedures to diagnose and manage a wide range of thoracic diseases. By using endoscopic techniques instead of surgery, this approach to care offers faster diagnosis, quicker recovery time, and less pain for our patients.
Our interventional pulmonologists work closely with a multidisciplinary team of specialists, including thoracic surgeons, oncologists, radiologists, critical care physicians, and respiratory therapists to create tailored treatment plans for each of our patients.
What conditions do interventional pulmonologists treat?
Interventional pulmonologists offer diagnosis and treatment for a wide range of conditions, including:
- Airway strictures
- Coughing up blood (hemoptysis)
- Cancer/tumors of the lung
- Complex airway disorders
- Lung nodules
- Pleural diseases, including pleural effusions and pneumothorax
- Rare diseases of the airway
- like pulmonary alveolar proteinosis, recurrent pulmonary papillomatosis
What procedures do interventional pulmonologists perform?
We are committed to improving the quality of life of our patients by alleviating symptoms like shortness of breath. After a comprehensive evaluation and consultation with our care team, we will recommend the best option for you. Our team offers a variety of interventional pulmonology procedures, including:
- Balloon airway dilation
- Bronchoscopy, flexible and rigid
- Chest tube and tunneled pleural catheter placement
- Electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy
- Endobronchial ultrasound, radial and linear
- Endobronchial valve placement
- Medical thoracoscopy, pleural biopsy and pleurodesis
- Percutaneous dilational tracheostomy
- Photodynamic therapy
- Tracheal and bronchial stent placement
- Tumor debulking using argon plasma coagulation (APC), electrocautery, cryotherapy
- Ultrasound guided thoracentesis and pleural manometry
- Whole lung lavage
