National Conference
Kovai Medical Center and Hospital will hold a national conference in interventional pulmonology here on Sunday Hospital President U.K. Ananthapadmanabhan and Consultant in Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine V.R. Pattabhi Raman told presspersons here on Thursday that the meet aimed at generating awareness among doctors on this speciality area.Dr. Pattabhi Raman explained that routine pulmonology involved diagnostics such as carrying out bronchoscopy to detect obstructions in the windpipe. The obstructions could be caused by tumour or foreign objects such as a pen cap swallowed by children.
The meet will highlight the latest technology in the form of an endobronchial ultrasound that could be used for both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. “The equipment is an integration of technology, namely the endoscope and ultrasound,” Mr. Ananthapadmanabhan said. The meet will also stress the significance of Interventional Pulmonology as an emerging sub-speciality. Apart from the conference, the Interventional Pulmonology department of the hospital will also be opened on Sunday.
The meet will help in providing training to pulmonologists in the new method, he said. Dr. Pattabhi Raman got training in the use of the endobronchial ultrasound from Kauhiro Ysufuku of Japan, who invented the equipment. The latter will take part in the conference. Dr. Pattabhi Raman said the new technology was helpful when an open surgery was not possible or when patients did not want their chest opened up for surgery.
The hospital cited the case of a 28-year-old man with a tumour obstructing 90 per cent of the windpipe. Dr. Pattabhi Raman and another pulmonologist S. Mahadevan passed a fibre-optic video bronchoscope, passed an electric loop and applied electricity to carry out a bloodless removal of the tumour. The electrocautery loop helped in coagulating blood during the procedure.The patient could go home on the same day the procedure was done.
