A flexible lighted tube called a fiberoptic bronchoscope is used to examine the airways, to see the tumour. The doctor needs to learn its type and exact location. This information is important for deciding whether surgery will be possible. If the tumor is not visible, an X-ray can help localize it so that the doctor can obtain biopsies through the bronchoscope.
Bronchoscopy is usually an outpatient procedure. The patient will be asked to arrive with an empty stomach and to bring a friend or relative who will be able to drive him/her home.
For the procedure, the patient will lie on a padded table equipped with an X-ray machine. A technician will connect him/her to heart, blood pressure and oxygen monitors. He/She will be given a local anesthetic as a mist, either to inhale or as a throat spray, and then sedated through a small IV in your hand or arm. His/Her nose will be numbed with an anesthetic gel, and then the scope will enter his/her nose and travel through the nose into your airway. Fluid is washed into your lung through the scope to allow cells to be collected for examination. Biopsies will most likely also be done.
There are no pain fibers in the lung, so the biopsies will not hurt. The patient will be closely monitored during the procedure and may spend a couple of hours in a recovery room. The main discomfort of bronchoscopy is from coughing, and his/her throat may be a little sore. If biopsies are done, the patient may cough up a small amount of blood.
No comments:
Post a Comment