Dr. Debraj Jash, Consultant Interventional Pulmonologist & Chest Specialist, Apollo Gleneagles Hospital Kolkata shares his thoughts on how interventional pulmonology is gaining momentum and is becoming the answer to easy, affordable and accessible lung-related treatment in India.
Q: Can you tell us more about interventional pulmonology?
DR JASH: Interventional pulmonology is anything that starts from bronchoscopy, thoracoscopy, fluid in the lung that reaches the cryobiopsy, endo-bronchial ultra-sound, stenting, electro-coterie. Therefore, any kind of procedure intervention is broadly termed as interventional pulmonology.
Q. Please tell us how pulmonology evolving and its place in the future.
DR JASH: Nowadays, pulmonology has gone beyond the asthma copd to the interventional aspect. So, a lung tumour that previously used to be inaccessible has become accessible and we can provide a palliation and give good amount of symptomatic relief. All these kinds of interventional pulmonology are not only for diagnostic purpose, but also for therapeutic purpose as well.
It’s a new topic. We are gaining more and more momentum nowadays and now bronchoscopy is available in almost every hospital. So, I sincerely hope and pray, that from this conference and all other CMEs which will happen in 2 to 3 years, post COVID, the interventional pulmonology space will gain momentum; and people as well as physicians will become more and more aware.
Q: How has technology made these interventions affordable & accessible?
DR JASH: Technology has actually made things much easier. Earlier, to treat a patient with a multiloculated pleural effusion could only be done by an operative intervention and would cost around INR 3 to 4 lakh. But, nowadays with the innovation in technology and progress in intervention, the treatment can be made with thoracoscopy that costs only INR 30 thousand; and these adhesiolyses can be done and with a minimal of incision.
Contrary to the belief that intervention has made healthcare costlier, in fact, it has made healthcare much more accessible to the common people.
