Bronchoscopy Unit

Direct examination of the respiratory tract with an endoscopic camera with a light at its tip is called bronchoscopy.

Why is Bronchoscopy Performed?

It is a method used in the diagnosis and sometimes treatment of many lung diseases. Flexible bronchoscope is generally used in diagnostic procedures. It is applied by experienced and specialist physicians by entering the airways through the mouth or nose.

How is Bronchoscopy Done?

Secretions such as phlegm and blood in the airways can be cleaned by sucking them out with the help of an absorbent device called an aspirator through a channel passing through the bronchoscope.

With the help of forceps (a bendable wire with forceps at the end), a small piece of tissue called biopsy is taken from the bronchial wall or the diseased area.
In addition to the material obtained by brushing the diseased area with the help of a small brush, physiological saline is administered and withdrawn, and as a result of the lavage process, both cytological and bacteriological examination is possible.

It is possible to take a biopsy from the lung tissue with forceps using a bronchoscope under radioscopy from the area that cannot be seen directly but is located on the x-ray. This is called transbronchial biopsy.

Lymph node sampling required for lung cancer staging is provided by needle aspiration through a bronchoscope. This aspiration can be performed blindly with a conventional bronchoscope or by direct vision with EBUS, which is a newer technique using intrabronchial ultrasound.

Who Should Have Bronchoscopy?

• To those who produce bloody phlegm
• Patients who have an abnormal appearance on chest radiography and cannot be diagnosed with other methods
• Those who have a suspicion of lung cancer on chest X-ray or tomography, and those who complain of a prolonged cough whose cause has not been found after all kinds of tests have been performed (allergy, reflux, sinusitis, etc.).
• Those with tumor cells in their sputum
• Patients who are being followed up for lung cancer and who have a foreign object stuck in their trachea
• In tumors that cause obstruction in the trachea and bronchi, interventional bronchoscopy applications (laser, argon plasma coagulation, electrocautery, cryocautery) are recommended to shrink the tumor and open the airway.