The experts at Royal Brompton Hospital, London, have developed an innovative way to treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with chronic bronchitis. The minimally invasive bronchoscopy procedure, called RejuvenAir® metered cryospray, and has been developed with device company, CSA Medical.
Minimally invasive 30-minute COPD treatment
Many cases of COPD cases are caused by cigarette smoking, with air pollution, dust and genetics. Symptoms often do not appear until patients are in their 40s or 50s, leading to underdiagnosis of COPD and chronic bronchitis.
Professor Pallav Shah, consultant respiratory physician, explains,” RejuvenAir delivers medical-grade liquid nitrogen to the affected parts of the airways to freeze and destroy the diseased cells. Rather than managing symptoms, the 30-minute procedure treats the cause of the disease, allowing for new, healthy, and normal functioning cells to repopulate the lung lining.”
Conventional treatments for advanced COPD include oxygen therapy, lung volume reduction and even a lung transplant. The RejuvenAir procedure offers an outpatient bronchoscopic approach for chronic bronchitis, without the risks of an invasive surgery.
Using cryotherapy, the RejuvenAir System procedure delivers metered doses of liquid nitrogen to the airways at minus 196 degrees to target the source of the cough and mucous production. The liquid nitrogen freezes the diseased cells before they have time to dehydrate, therefore destroying the contents of the cell but keep the extracellular matrix in place to allow repopulation to occur.
Each lung is treated during a separate procedure, usually six weeks apart and we are the only centre internationally who can provide this treatment.
The two-step RejuvenAir procedure is performed under general anaesthetic and, as each step can be performed within half an hour, the patient is usually able to return home within a few hours.
Leading the way for chronic bronchitis treatment
RejuvenAir metered cryospray treatment offers a new approach for patients with chronic bronchitis. It is a minimally invasive approach, which treats the underlying cause of the disease.
“Previously there has been no cure for chronic bronchitis but this new procedure aims to treat the underlying cause, rather than just temporarily relieve symptoms,” says Professor Shah. “After the treatment, patients usually experience improved symptoms after two or three days, with an improved sense of wellbeing as a result,” he adds.
- For more information visit:
https://www.rbhh-specialistcare.co.uk/news/rejuvenair-30-minute-treatment-for-copd-chronic-bronchitis
