In testing the treatment over five years at the Graduate Institute of Cardiology and Pneumology Quebec, patients with severe asthma have seen a significant and lasting improvement in their health.
Approved by Health Canada in 2010, bronchial thermoplasty appears to be a very promising treatment in improving the health of severe asthma sufferers.
One cause of asthma is the presence in large amounts of muscle tissue inside the lungs. The muscle is hyper-reactive, and factors such as cold or dust will trigger a muscle contraction, preventing air from circulating well.
Treatment is aimed at destroying about 60 percent of the muscle to prevent constriction of the airways. Bronchial thermoplasty or BT is a bronchoscopic procedure performed under moderate sedation on an outpatient basis.
Doctors introduce a catheter slip into a flexible bronchoscope, which delivers thermal energy to the airway wall in a precise and controlled manner to reduce excessive muscle in the airway.
Patients must undergo three sessions, three weeks apart, to cover the lobes on both lungs.
The treatment is covered by health insurance, and there has been marked improvement in health and quality of life for severe asthma sufferers.
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