Bronchoscopy!

At the new facility I work at I had the AMAZING opportunity to sit in on a bronchoscopy! What is a bronchoscopy you ask? A Bronchoscopy is a procedure where a flexible scope looks into the bronchi of the lungs! The scope can be passed via orally, nasal cavity or even through a tracheostomy site. The bronchoscopy that I observed was through the tracheostomy site.
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Why would a physician choose to perform a bronchoscopy? This procedure can aid in site of a tumor, signs of an infection, can help clear excessive mucus from the airway, localize a site of bleed or remove a blockage from the airway.

Why is this so interesting for Speech-Language Pathologists?! Well guess what would need to happen if a patient aspirated a significant bolus? I once had a colleague that worked with a patient that had a whole cashew removed from the bronchoscopy procedure!

I have to say during this procedure I just stood in awe, I'm sure I had my jaw hanging open! I have a new found appreciate for the intricacies of the lungs! So below I have two videos from youtube that show a bronchoscopy. My computer is being terribly slow so I cannot preview them but they look like what I want to show you! So enjoy!!





Resources

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/bron/

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003857.htm


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