Bronchoscopy

Bronchoscopy shows what’s happening in your airways

Bronchoscopy is a procedure to look directly at the airways in the lungs through a thin, lighted tube (bronchoscope). The bronchoscope is put in the nose or mouth, moved down the throat and trachea (windpipe), and into the airways. A health care provider can then see the voice box (larynx), trachea, large airways to the lungs (bronchi), and smaller branches of the bronchi (bronchioles).

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Types of bronchoscope

There are two types of bronchoscope: flexible and rigid. Both types come in different widths.

A rigid bronchoscope is a straight tube. It’s only used to view the larger airways. It may be used within the bronchi to:

  • Remove a large amount of secretions or blood
  • Control bleeding
  • Remove foreign objects
  • Remove diseased tissue (lesions)

A flexible bronchoscope is used more often. Unlike the rigid scope, it can be moved down into the smaller airways (bronchioles). The flexible bronchoscope may be used to:

  • Give oxygen
  • Suction out secretions
  • Take tissue samples (biopsy)
  • Put medicine into the lungs
  • Give laser therapy

Reasons you might need bronchoscopy

A bronchoscopy may be done to diagnose and treat lung problems such as:

  • Tumors or bronchial cancer
  • Airway blockage (obstruction)
  • Narrowed areas in airways (strictures)
  • Inflammation and infections such as tuberculosis (TB), pneumonia, and fungal or parasitic lung infections
  • Interstitial pulmonary disease
  • Causes of a persistent cough
  • Causes of coughing up blood
  • Spots seen on chest X-rays
  • Vocal cord paralysis

Diagnostic procedures or treatments that are done with bronchoscopy include:

  • Biopsy of tissue
  • Collection of sputum
  • Fluid put into the lungs and then removed (bronchoalveolar lavage or BAL) to diagnose lung disorders
  • Removal of secretions, blood, mucus plugs, or growths (polyps) to clear airways
  • Control of bleeding in the bronchi
  • Removing foreign objects or other blockages
  • Laser therapy or radiation treatment for bronchial tumors
  • Placement of a small tube (stent) to keep an airway open tent placement
  • Drainage of an area of pus (abscess)

Your health care provider may also have other reasons to advise a bronchoscopy.