bronchoplasty

Indications

• balloon bronchoplasty involves the use of balloons for symptomatic airway stenosis (airway obstruction), resulting from
  • endotracheal intubation
  • lower respiratory tract infection
  • radiation
  • malignancy
  • sarcoidosis
  • Wegener's granulomatosis
  • inhalational injury
  • idiopathic stenosis

Procedure

• bronchoscopy with protected airway
• special balloons with various diameters are filled with saline with a pressure-measuring syringe (6-12 atmospheres in adults, inflation diameter 4 -20 mm. length of 4 -8 cm)
• each dilation is maintained for 15-60 s & repeated 2-3 times, with sequentially larger-diameter balloons

More general terms

• cardiothoracic surgery