Bronchoscopy

About This Treatment

Bronchoscopy is an endoscopic procedure. Your lung doctor uses a narrow scope with a light and camera to gain better access to your airway. With bronchoscopy, your doctor can see inside your lungs in great detail to diagnose and treat airway disease.

During a bronchoscopy, a pulmonologist inserts a tube through your nose or mouth, into your trachea (windpipe) and down into the bronchi and bronchioles, the smaller airways of your lungs. The tube has a light and camera. Your lung doctor can also use tools inserted through the bronchoscope to take samples or perform certain procedures.

Types of bronchoscopy

The two main types of bronchoscopy are:

• Flexible bronchoscopy: Flexible bronchoscopy uses a smaller, more flexible tube that your lung specialist can thread into your lower airways. You may have this procedure under conscious sedation, meaning you are deeply relaxed but not completely asleep.
• Rigid bronchoscopy: This less-common procedure involves a larger, stiffer bronchoscope. It cannot move as deep into the lungs, but it gives your pulmonologist the ability to perform procedures to treat lung disease. Rigid bronchoscopy requires general anesthesia in the operating room.

Who performs bronchoscopy?

A lung specialist called a pulmonologist performs the bronchoscopy procedure.

Some pulmonologists have advanced training to perform rigid bronchoscopy. Franciscan Health’s pulmonologists are among the most experienced lung specialists providing this advanced, less-invasive option for lung disease.

When is bronchoscopy used?

Bronchoscopy is used to treat:

• Airway narrowing (stenosis)
• Airway obstruction
• Bleeding
• Cancers
• Inflammatory conditions
• Lung infections

Pulmonologists use bronchoscopy to:

• Perform larger biopsies
• Place airway devices, such as tracheobronchial stents to keep airways open
• Remove foreign objects