Consultation hours for advanced COPD and pulmonary emphysema therapy
The Department of Infectious Diseases and Respiratory Medicine of Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin offers patients with advanced COPD and severe pulmonary emphysema the opportunity to present endoscopic emphysema therapy for lung volume reduction in a specialized consultation hour at the Charité Mitte campus (CCM) and the Benjamin Franklin campus (CBF).
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What is a COPD?
COPD is the abbreviation for "Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease".
It is a chronically progressive, incurable lung disease in which the respiratory tract narrows due to a prolonged inflammatory reaction.
Essential components of the disease are chronic bronchitis and pulmonary emphysema.
What is pulmonary emphysema?
Pulmonary emphysema is serious damage to the lung tissue - usually as a result of COPD. This is characterized by overstretched and partially burst alveoli, which makes breathing very difficult.
Symptomes
The main symptoms of advanced COPD and pulmonary emphysema are chronic cough, usually with sputum, and shortness of breath during exercise.
In advanced cases, shortness of breath occurs not only during exertion but also during rest periods and often significantly hampers participation in daily life.
Requirements for counselling and treatment
- severe forms of pulmonary emphysema (COPD GOLD III / IV)
- already begun, permanent consistent nicotine renunciation
- optimisation of the drug therapy already carried out
- completed rehabilitation measures
Service spectrum
- Personal consultation on the individual possibilities of using a new endoscopic therapy to reduce lung volume in bronchoscopy - either reversibly using valves or irreversibly using coils or a steam technique (thermal ablation), which can treat severely damaged, over-inflated lung sections and improve breathing mechanics;
- thorough preliminary examinations to determine the best procedure for the individual patient
- If necessary, an endoscopic or surgical therapy for lung volume reduction can be performed.
Senior consultantt
PD Dr. med. Ralf-Harto Hübner: Specialist in internal medicine, pneumology, sleep medicine, specialization: Pneumological endoscopy, COPD
Please bring to the agreed date:
- letter of referral
- insurance card
- medication plan
- At first presentation: all previous findings (doctor's letters, x-rays, laboratory values)
