Bronchoscopy System for Minimally Invasive Diagnosis and Treatment of Lung Cancer – and Other Lung Diseases
In the United States, lung cancer causes more deaths than any other cancer and is second only to heart disease in overall mortality. Because pulmonary tumors (a form of lung cancer) are difficult to detect and biopsy, the disease is often diagnosed late—at stage III or IV. At those stages, five-year survival of lung cancer is only about 15 percent.
Ganesh Krishna, M.D., a pulmonologist at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation’s (PAMF) Mountain View Center, is one of few physicians in the United States trained to perform inReach electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy. Using this revolutionary technology he has taken lung cancer treatment to a whole new level.
Two-minute video demonstration of the inReach System
The inReach electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy system allows clinicians to non-invasively biopsy small lesions in the periphery of the lung for the first time. Using traditional methods, doctors can only direct a typical bronchoscope down two or three airway branches, however, there may be 17 to 25 branches before they get to a small nodule in the periphery of the lung. In the past, pulmonologists would either follow these nodules over time or insert a needle through the chest and into the lung, which can sometimes collapse this delicate organ. The new electromatic navigation system allows Dr. Krishna and other pulmonologists to biopsy tissue they wouldn’t have been able to reach otherwise.
In 2005, Carol Thorington was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer—the most serious classification of cancer. With hundreds of tumors in both lungs, she was given two, at most six, months to live. Although doctors told her that it was inoperable, Carol wasn’t ready to give up. She went to see Dr. Krishna, even though she knew conventional wisdom said her cancer was incurable.
New Treatment for Lung Cancer Extends Patient Life
The new interventional pulmonary procedures Dr. Krishna performed for Carol have not only lengthened her life by five years, they have made those years much more comfortable. For the past five years, Carol’s routine has been to see Dr. Krishna regularly for removal of the lung tumors that he can reach without having to perform surgery and the insertion of stents in the lungs to ease her breathing.
As one of only a few doctors in the United States who are experts in the inReach electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy system, Dr. Krishna collaborates with doctors in Radiation Oncology, Thoracic Surgery and Medical Oncology, and offers patients cutting-edge noninvasive procedures for treating lung cancer, emphysema, benign airway disorders and pleural diseases. Palo Alto Medical Foundation’s Mountain View Center is the only medical center on the West Coast offering 22 diagnostic and therapeutic Interventional pulmonology procedures.
Note to Media: The following are also available for your use.
Patient Testimonial:
Two-minute video demonstration of the inReach System:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LE-IOfE0OMM
Dr. Krishna’s PAMF Profile Page:
http://www.pamf.org/providersearch/?sitecfg=41&vs=detail&action=providerdetail&masterid=19594
About Interventional Pulmonology:
http://www.pamf.org/pulmonary/interventional
About Lung Cancer: Risk Factors, Types & Prognosis and Treatment
http://www.pamf.org/healtheducation/media/toyourhealth/lungcancer.html
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Hello.
My name is Danielle Hicks and I work at the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation in San Carlos, CA. I am interested in learning more about inreach electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy and Dr. Krishna. We have several patients come to us daily and are working on a secondary referral program. I can be reached at Danielle@lungcancerfoundation.org or by phone at 650-598-2857 x 107.
Thank you very much.
Danielle
Thank you, Danielle. You can reach Dr. Krishna’s office directly at (650) 934-7144. Best wishes in your program.