New hope for people with emphysema
(BPT) - In the past few years, stairs had become daunting, laundry baskets too heavy and walks across parking lots scary for Trenda, a 57-year-old Wisconsin woman living with severe emphysema. Thanks to modern medicine, she is breathing better and enjoying her life again.
Today, Trenda is more active, less anxious, and incredibly grateful for medical breakthroughs. "I'm not 18 again," she says, "but I can do a lot of things now that I could do five years ago, but not two months ago. Things like carrying laundry up the cellar stairs. Going to parks, markets and fairs without worrying about the terrain. Walking through airports without needing to rest (and there's a lot of walking in airports)."
"I no longer plan my day around where I'm going to have to stop to catch my breath," she says. "That anxiety is just gone."
Zephyr® Valves can be game-changing
Trenda is among a growing number of patients with severe COPD/emphysema who are seeing real improvements after receiving endobronchial valves (EBVs). These small, one-way devices are placed in the most diseased part of the lung to release trapped air and help healthier parts of the lungs work more efficiently.
About the size of a pencil eraser, the valves are bronchoscopically placed - using a thin tube guided down the throat - with no incisions. There's a three-night hospital stay required for observation, and side effects are usually minor and short-term.
Complications of the Zephyr® Endobronchial Valve treatment can include but are not limited to pneumothorax, worsening of COPD symptoms, hemoptysis, pneumonia, dyspnea and, in rare cases, death.
Previously, severe emphysema patients' options were limited to inhalers and other medical management or invasive, often high-risk surgery. Now, there's hope for significant quality-of-life gains with a minimally invasive, guideline-recommended standard-of-care procedure.
Quality-of-life improvement is a realistic goal
"With today's advanced treatment options, the paradigm in severe COPD care is shifting beyond stability toward striving to be free of shortness of breath, even with exertion," says Dr. Jonathan Kurman, Trenda's doctor and director of interventional pulmonology at Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin Health Network. "If we can't achieve that, we aim to get them a lot better. When you do a procedure like this and the patient responds well, you are turning back the clock on their respiratory status - often by five to 10 years."
Trenda's valves are made by a company called Pulmonx Corporation, based in Redwood City, California, and Neuchâtel, Switzerland. The company's Zephyr Valve treatment received FDA approval in 2018, and today, more than 40,000 patients have been treated worldwide. The procedure is indicated for those who still experience significant breathlessness despite using inhalers, oxygen and pulmonary rehab - and offers a far less invasive option than lung surgery or transplant.
How Zephyr Valves work
By releasing trapped air that restricts the diaphragm, endobronchial valves can improve lung function, exercise capacity and quality of life.1 The procedure is clinically proven, backed by extensive research and reversible, as the valves can be removed if necessary.
To see if they qualify, prospective patients undergo an evaluation that includes a CT scan, heart ultrasound, and breathing test. About one in three qualify. Trenda was one, and after reviewing the research, she opted for the procedure.
A pleasant surprise
Billy, another of Kurman's patients, was on oxygen before receiving the valves. Shortly afterward, he surprised his wife by walking up the stairs to the second floor of his home - something he hadn't done in years. "What the heck are you doing here?" she asked. "You haven't been upstairs in years!"
Post-procedure cardiopulmonary rehab helped Billy improve his endurance by 26%, allowing him to attend his grandsons' Little League games without dwelling on the act of breathing. "I don't think about it much anymore."
For both Billy and Trenda, the procedure offered freedom they hadn't felt in years. But many others never learn it's an option. Kurman encourages patients to be proactive, noting that about half of prospective patients discover the treatment by word of mouth.
"This is one procedure where if you wait for your provider to push you in this direction, you're probably waiting too long," Kurman says. "Patients can really be their own advocates here."
He adds, "Every patient has the same reaction: 'I wish I had heard about this five years ago.'"
Learn more about Zephyr Valves: https://pulmonx.com/
Results of individual cases vary.
Important Safety Information: The Pulmonx Zephyr® Endobronchial Valves are implantable bronchial valves indicated for the bronchoscopic treatment of adult patients with hyperinflation associated with severe emphysema in regions of the lung that have little to no collateral ventilation. Complications can include but are not limited to pneumothorax (tear in the lung), worsening of COPD symptoms, hemoptysis, pneumonia, and, in rare cases, death. The Zephyr Valve is contraindicated in patients who have not quit smoking. Please talk with your physician about other contraindications, warnings, precautions, and adverse events. Only a trained physician can decide whether a particular patient is an appropriate candidate for treatment with the Zephyr Valve.
Caution: Federal law restricts this device to sale by or on the order of a physician.
Dr. Kurman is a paid consultant of Pulmonx Corporation.
1. Criner, G et al. Am J Resp Crit Care Med. 2018; 198(9):1151-1164
Source: BrandPoint
