Abstract
We describe the implantation of endobronchial valves (Spiration®) in a patient with haemoptysis, which represents both a novel indication for the use of these devices and a novel intervention for haemoptysis. Our patient is a 30 year-old male who developed bilateral upper lobe aspergillomata following previous pulmonary tuberculosis.
The patient had a history of multiple hospitalisations for life-threatening haemoptysis despite repeated bronchial artery embolisations. Given the bilateral nature of his disease and very poor pulmonary reserves (FEV1 0.78L, 19.3%), he was deemed inoperable.
After obtaining consent from the patient as well as our local ethics committee, we proceeded to identify the segments involved (CT 3D-reconstruction). With the aid of a flexible bronchoscope, we implanted three valves in the following segments: right upper lobe (UL) anterior segment, left UL apical and posterior segments.
Our patient has remained haemoptysis-free for the three months to date. He has also not experienced any stent-related complications. Moreover, he has shown improvement in his functional capacity (FEV1 1.40 L, 34.2%) and is currently employed as a manual labourer.
- © 2013 ERS