5-320.60:

You have had a bronchoscopy that destroyed pathologically changed tissue in your bronchi.

Air is breathed in via the mouth or nose. From there the air goes to the windpipe via the larynx. At the end of the windpipe are two bronchial tubes (or bronchi) branching away from it. The bronchial tubes run into the lungs. What is more, the bronchial tubes divide into even smaller branches. The larynx, windpipe, bronchia and lungs are part of the lower airways.

To do the bronchoscopy, a flexible tube is inserted through the mouth or nose and pushed down to the lower airways. The treatment sometimes also uses a rigid tube. A camera is attached to the end of the tube. This camera then sends images to a screen during the examination. It can then be seen whether the tissue is healthy or changed. Small tools can be pushed through at the front of the tube.

You have had nerves in your bronchi destroyed using heat. This method permits deeper lying tissue to be destroyed in a targeted way, without damaging the mucous membrane. The destruction of the nerves aims to permanently enlarge the bronchi and to counter any ongoing inflammation in the bronchi. A special tool was used to do this in your case.