DANVILLE, Pa. – Patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and emphysema can now undergo a minimally invasive procedure at Geisinger, known as the Zephyr valve treatment, to help them breathe a little easier.
“Before we had this technology, when our patients were still symptomatic despite optimal medical management, their only option was to have lung transplantation or surgery for lung volume reduction, where bad parts of the lung are removed,” says said Ngoc-Tram Ha, MD, Geisinger director of interventional pulmonology. “The morbidity and mortality rates in those surgeries can be significantly higher than in less-invasive procedures, such as endobronchial valves. The Zephyr valves create better air redistribution in the lungs in a minimally invasive way, allowing patients to breathe more effectively and have a better quality of life.”
More than 15 million Americans have COPD, and of those, more than 20% have emphysema. Severe disease can cause air to become trapped in parts of the lung that are extremely damaged, preventing new air from getting in. Trapped air makes the lungs larger and puts pressure on the diaphragm, making it difficult to breathe or catch one’s breath. There are few treatment options for these patients and there is no cure.
With the Zephyr valve treatment, a physician uses a bronchoscope to place endobronchial valve devices in the airways of the lungs. The valves divert air into less-diseased parts of the lung while deflating the worst parts of the lung, taking pressure off the diaphragm and making it easier to breathe.
Zephyr received breakthrough device designation and FDA approval on the valve treatment system in 2018.
Visit Geisinger’s website to find a lung doctor or for more information on pulmonary care.