Dr. Ahmad and his patient David Cohen were featured in the Naples Daily News about Bronchial Thermoplasty, a new treatment for patients with severe asthma. Below is the article.
By: Liz Freeman
FORT MYERS, Fla. – A year ago David Cohen could barely walk five feet. Shortness of breath always got the better of him.
The North Fort Myers winter resident may never make stained glass art again. But what’s new in his life is walking three-fourths of a mile on a treadmill. He plans to better that.
He credits his improved ability to a relatively new asthma treatment, called bronchial thermoplasty, a three-step outpatient procedure that is so successful with some patients they discontinue asthma medications.
“There is no pain, a little throat irritation,” Cohen, 72, said of the procedure. “I see myself getting stronger.”
The procedure involves a pulmonologist using a bronchoscope with a camera to guide a catheter in the airway while the patient is under general anesthesia. The doctor delivers radio frequency heat from the catheter tip to muscle in the lung wall.
The heat reduces the lung’s muscle thickness to improve an asthmatic’s ability to breathe by restricting muscle swelling. The treatment reduces frequency of asthma attacks, according to clinical data.
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