PGI Completes Thirty Thousand Flexible Bronchoscopy Procedures

By 121 News

Chandigarh 22^nd June:- The Department of Pulmonary Medicine at PGI, Chandigarh completed 30,000 flexible bronchoscopy procedures on 22^nd June 2016. The bronchoscopy lab at PGI is one amongst the oldest in the country, and has performed the largest number of bronchoscopies in the country with almost 1800 procedures being performed every year. The first bronchoscopy was performed on 17^th September 1979 and since then the Department has never looked back. The Department was also the first to introduce endobronchial ultrasound services in the public sector in 2012, and the Department has performed over 1,100 procedures till date. The Department also added radial EBUS procedure to sample lung masses and nodules, especially in patients suspected with lung cancer or tuberculosis. The department is regularly performing thoracoscopy, which is used in diagnosis and management of various pleural disorders. For the past several years the department has also started performing interventional bronchoscopy procedures like rigid bronchoscopy, placement of tracheal and bronchial stents and balloon dilatation of tracheobronchial strictures. The bronchoscopy lab also provides emergency services such as removal of foreign body aspirated in the airways, removal of obstructing airway tumors and other airway emergencies. Recently, the unit has also extracted foreign bodies in the pediatric patients that proved life-saving for several children. Under the leadership of Prof Digambar Behera, the current head, the department has recently acquired the endobronchial laser system that will prove instrumental in providing advanced care to patients with lung cancer.