MD Learning Channel - Pulmonary, Allergy & Critical Care Medicine

Bronchial Thermoplasty (BT) is an FDA approved procedure for adult patients with severe asthma who remain poorly controlled despite compliance with medical therapy. BT employs heat, delivered by thin wires fed down the airway, to reduce the amount of excess smooth muscle in the airway. The procedure uses the Alair System, developed by Asthmatx Inc., which comprises a specially designed catheter and electrode array to deliver a precise amount of heat energy to the excess smooth muscle. The treatment is performed in three outpatient procedures, typically three weeks apart. This presentation features Mark T. Dransfield, MD, and Jennifer Trevor, MD, performing and providing step-by-step narration of a Bronchial Thermoplasty Procedure.

For more information on UAB's Bronchial Thermoplasty procedure, including consult and referral resources, click here.

Mark Dransfield, MD, professor of medicine in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy & Critical Care Medicine, discusses the clinical and molecular phenotyping, current ongoing clinical trials, the heterogeneity of acute exacerbations, and the future of research in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).