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RECENT ADVANCES IN CHEST MEDICINE: Momen M. Wahidi, Felix J. F. Herth, and Armin Ernst State of the Art: Interventional Pulmonology Chest 2007; 131: 261-274 [Abstract] [Full text] [PDF]

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Electronic Letter to the Editor

Ko-Pen Wang   (26 March 2007)

Electronic Letter to the Editor 26 March 2007
Ko-Pen Wang, MD, Interventional Pulmonology Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Send letter to journal: Re: Electronic Letter to the Editor kopenwang{at}yahoo.com Ko-Pen Wang	I have read the article “State of the Art Interventional Pulmonology” with great interest and appreciation. Interventional pulmonology focuses on procedural services in pulmonary medicine; it is not a long list of procedures. An interventional pulmonologist doesn’t need to do all the listed procedures. Claiming procedures that are ours must respect the expertise of other specialist and provide the whole service as a team. It is not how many procedures we list and one can do, it should be how well we can do in what procedures which will benefit the patient most. Do we need to reserve the interventional pulmonologist only to those skillful in all procedures, or do we have to view the interventional pulmonologist who do not perform rigid bronchoscopy as incomplete and less competent; of course not (1). We as a pulmonary specialist have come a long way from rigid to flexible bronchoscopy. Most of the interventional procedures started through rigid Bronchoscope. Routine use of rigid bronchoscope as airway conduit in combination with the Flexible bronchoscope under general anesthesia have kept it alive otherwise, it may fade away again. Recent development of EBUS-TBNA is most exciting. This procedure is clearly more in our domain; it is not easier to learn. Will it accelerate the learning of TBNA or compound the problem for those who have difficulties in doing TBNA (2). Every venue of training is valuable. Learning starts insidiously and never ends. To unify the training and validate it by rules and regulation is a daughnting task. Different trainees need different training and different trainers train differently. A dedicated one-year interventional pulmonary fellowship training program in a special center is ideal and may provide the best opportunity. This article covered many important issues with passion and vision. It is an interventional pulmonologist must read. REFERENCES 1. Wahidi MM, Herth FJ, Ernst A. State of the Art Interventional Pulmonology. Chest 2007; 131:261-274 2. Patel NM, Pohlman A, Husain A, Noth I, Hall JB, Kress JP. Conventional Transbronchial Needle Aspiration Decreases the Rate of Surgical Sampling of Intrathoracic Lymphadenopathy. Chest 2007; 131:773- 778