Bronchoscopy is a procedure that allows your doctor to look at your airway through a thin viewing instrument called a bronchoscope. During bronchoscopy, your doctor will examine your throat, larynx, trachea and lower airways.

Bronchoscopy may be done to diagnose problems with the airway or to remove an object or growth from the airway.

Bronchoscopy may be used to:

• Identify the cause of airway problems, such as bleeding, difficulty breathing, or inflammation from other lung disease.
  
  
• Take tissue samples when other tests, such as a chest X-ray or CT scan, show areas of the lungs.
  
  
• Diagnose lung diseases by collecting tissue or mucus (sputum) samples for biopsy.
  
  
• Diagnose and determine the extent of lung cancer.
  
  
• Remove objects blocking the airway.
  
  
• Evaluate and treat growths in the airway
  
  
• Control bleeding (hemoptysis).

How to Prepare

You will be asked to sign a consent form before a bronchoscopy. Talk to your doctor about any concerns you have regarding the need for the procedure, its risks, how it will be done, or what the results will indicate.

Before you have a bronchoscopy, tell your doctors if you:

• Are taking medications.
  
  
• Are allergic to any medications, including anesthetics.
  
  
• Have had bleeding problems or take blood- thinners, such as aspirin, clopidogrel (lavix), or warfarin (Coumadin)
  
• Are or might be pregnant.

Your doctor may order other tests before your bronchoscopy, such as complete blood count (CBC), bleeding factors, arterial blood gas (ABG), or pulmonary function tests (PFT)

Do not eat or drink for at least 8 to 10 hours before the procedures.

Arrange to have someone drive you home after the procedure.

How It Is Done

You may be given some medications before the procedure to dry up the secretions in your mouth and airways.

You may be asked to remove your dentures, eyeglasses or contact lenses, hearing aids, wigs, makeup and jewelry before the biopsy. You will empty your bladder before the biopsy. You will need to take off all or most of your clothes (you may allowed to keep on your underwear if it does not interfere with the biopsy). You will be given a cloth for covering to use during the biopsy.

The procedure is done by a pulmonologist and an assistant. Your heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen level will be checked during the procedure.

A chest X-ray may be done before and after the bronchoscopy.

Risks

Bronchoscopy is generally a safe procedure. Although complications are rare, your doctor will discuss any risks with you. Complications that may ocure include:

• Spasms of the bronchial tubes, which can impair breathing.
  
  
• Irregular heart rhythms (arrhythmias)
  
  
• Infections, such as pneumonia. These can usually can be treated with antibiotics.
  
  
• Ongoing hoarseness.
  
  
• Bubbles under the skin that crackle and pop when pressed.

If a biopsy was done during bronchoscopy complications that may occur include:

• A tear in the lung from the needle used to collect a tissue sample. This will allow air flow into the pleural space, producing a partial collapse of the lung (pneumothorax).
  
  
• Bleeding caused by the needle used to collect the tissue.

• An infection from the biopsy procedure.

• If you receive general anesthesia, there is a small chance of death from complications associated with general anesthesia. However, this is very rare.