Fiber-optic Bronchoscope Provides Inside View of Patient’s Airway
December 30, 2002
NEW DIAGNOSTIC SERVICE PROVIDED BY
SUTTER NORTH MEDICAL FOUNDATION:
Bronchoscopy is a new diagnostic procedure offered by Sutter North Medical Foundation that may help a physician better detect illnesses like lung cancer; potentially discovering them in earlier phases. Using a long thin flexible instrument, a Sutter North Pulmonologist, Ajaipal S. Gill, M.D., can view a patient’s throat, larynx, trachea, and lower bronchial airways of the lungs. This fiber-optic bronchoscope has a camera and biopsy instruments on one end and can be maneuvered through a patient’s mouth or nose into the airways of their lungs to determine what may be causing patient symptoms; like inflammation and bleeding and can also help determine the extent of lung cancer. This diagnostic and outpatient procedure will allow Dr. Gill to view a patient’s lungs on a video monitor, take cultures with a miniature vacuum, or obtain a biopsy sample of lung tissue. Bronchoscopy is an efficient and minimally invasive method for a physician to detect problems for patients. Furthermore, Bronchoscopy doesn’t require general
anesthesia and is commonly done as an outpatient procedure.
“Procedures like this are important because they often allow more rapid diagnosis and quicker treatment for underlying pulmonary conditions,” said William G. Hoffman, Chief Medical Officer for Sutter North Medical Foundation. Bronchoscopy only takes about an hour including set up. A Registered Nurse will assist the physician and monitor the patient throughout the procedure. For more information please contact Sutter North’s Procedure Center at (530) 749-3500 or Dr. Ajaipal Gill’s office at (530) 749-3395.