Bronchoscopy

Diagnostic Imaging for Pulmonary Conditions

In a bronchoscopy procedure, your doctor is able to see your breathing passages / airways using a slender instrument that is called a “bronchoscope.” This flexible fiber-optic device utilizes a camera and light source on the end. Many bronchoscopes allow for full-color imaging, so your doctor can get a highly clear and detailed view.

This procedure allows your doctor to get a close, clear view of your:

• Lower airways
• Larynx
• Trachea
• Throat
• Small airways in the lungs such as bronchi and bronchioles

How Does a Bronchoscopy Work?

Your doctor conducts the bronchoscopy by threading the scope through your mouth or nose, into your trachea or “windpipe,” and down into your lungs. In some cases, a bronchoscopy is used not only as a viewing device, but also as a tool for treatment, providing medication to the lungs or removing an object stuck in your breathing passages. Bronchoscopies are often ordered in response to abnormal findings in a computerized tomography (CT) scan or chest X-ray.

A bronchoscopy can diagnose:

• Lung disease
• Cause of chronic coughing
• Infection
• Tumors

Learn more about the pulmonary diagnostic services provided by the skilled doctors at our Fremont facility. Visit Washington Health Medical Group for additional information about diagnosing pulmonary conditions.