Department Of Pulmonology, Interventional Pulmonology And Sleep Medicine

The field of medicine known as Pulmonology is focused on diagnosing and treating respiratory diseases. Pulmonologists are medical professionals who specialise in the management and care of patients with such conditions. A relatively recent development in Pulmonary Medicine is Interventional Pulmonology. In Interventional Pulmonology, illnesses of the Lungs and chest are identified and treated using Bronchoscopy and other technologies.

Sleep medicine is a rapidly evolving speciality that focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders, ensuring patients achieve restorative and healthy sleep patterns. Sleep difficulties can significantly impact a person's overall well-being and may lead to several health problems.

Conditions That Interventional Pulmonology Can Treat

It includes anything related to the Lungs and chest. The following conditions are treated by Interventional Pulmonology:

• Asthma
• Tuberculosis (TB)
• COPD
• Amyloidosis
• Carcinoid Tumours
• Endobronchial Tumours
• Airway Stricture (due to benign and malignant causes)
• Compressed Airways
• Congenital Airway Stenosis
• Tracheomalacia
• Fibrosing Mediastinitis
• Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis
• Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis (Wegener's Granulomatosis)
• Relapsing Polychondritis

Conditions That Sleep Medicine Can Treat

The following are some of the serious conditions that the Sleep Disorder Unit treats:

• Insomnia
• Obstructive Sleep Apnoea
• Narcolepsy
• Sleep Deprivation
• Sleepwalking 
• Sleep Disordered Breathing and Snoring
• Sleep Movement Disorders 
• Excessive Sleepiness Idiopathic Hypersomnia (Daytime sleepiness) 
• Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome 

Procedures Involved in Sleep Disorder Treatment:

• Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) - This is the primary treatment for obstructive sleep apnea, involving the use of a machine, a CPAP pump, that delivers a continuous flow of air to keep the airway open during sleep.
• Multiple Sleep Latency Test (MSLT) - These tests, also known as day nap studies, measure how easily a patient falls asleep during the day in a calm setting in order to gauge daytime drowsiness.
• Maintenance of Wakefulness Testing (MWT) - Patients are put through tests to formally ascertain their capacity for daytime alertness. These tests show how well a patient can maintain their focus when there is little activity going on around them.
• Overnight Diagnostic Polysomnogram - An overnight sleep test, sometimes referred to as polysomnography, is one of the most popular types of sleep research. It includes data gathered throughout the investigation, including:
  • Brain waves
  • Heart rate
  • Breathing
  • The oxygen level in the blood
  • Eye and leg movements

What are Interventional Pulmonology procedures?

Procedures and techniques used in Interventional Pulmonology may include:

• Bronchoscopy: Interventional Pulmonologists use a flexible tube with a camera to visualise the airways and perform procedures such as biopsies, tumour ablation, and foreign body removal.
• Endobronchial Ultrasound (EBUS): EBUS is used for diagnosing and staging Lung Cancer by visualising lymph nodes near the Lungs and guiding biopsies.
• Medical Pleuroscopy: A rigid or flexible tube is placed into the patient's chest during this treatment, usually to obtain biopsies of pleural effusions, masses of the pleura, or the lining of the chest or lung walls.
• Endoscopic bronchial tumour removal: In this form of therapy, a bronchoscope is inserted to reach deep-lying Tumours in the Lungs using lasers and other Cancer-curing technology.
• Placement of an airway stent: This type of procedure involves inserting a stent into the airway to widen it and improve the patient's ability to breathe.
• Balloon Bronchoplasty: A doctor inserts a deflated balloon into an excessively restricted airway. The airway is widened by inflating the balloon with water, potentially alleviating symptoms. To assist in enlarging a bronchus, balloon Bronchoplasty may be performed before the implantation of an airway stent.
• Bronchoscopic Thermoplasty: The doctor uses a heat probe inserted through the bronchoscope to destroy the smooth muscle fibres that cause the symptoms.

Procedures Involved in Sleep Disorder Treatment

• Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) - This is the primary treatment for Obstructive Sleep Apnea, involving the use of a machine, a CPAP pump, that delivers a continuous flow of air to keep the airway open during sleep.
• Multiple Sleep Latency Test (MSLT) - These tests, also known as day nap studies, measure how easily a patient falls asleep during the day in a calm setting to gauge daytime drowsiness.
• Maintenance of Wakefulness Testing (MWT) - Patients are put through tests to formally ascertain their capacity for daytime alertness. These tests show how well a patient can maintain their focus when there is little activity going on around them.
• Overnight Diagnostic Polysomnogram - An overnight sleep test, sometimes referred to as Polysomnography, is one of the most popular types of sleep research. It includes data gathered throughout the investigation, including:
• Brain waves
• Heart rate
• Breathing
• The oxygen level in the blood
• Eye and leg movements