Atrium Medical Center Leads Ohio in Specialized Lung Procedure

Atrium Medical Center leads Ohio in the number of patients who have participated in the Zephyr Endobronchial Valve procedure, the first minimally invasive procedure that treats patients with severe COPD and emphysema.

The Zephyr Valves are placed during a bronchoscopic procedure, making this surgery minimally invasive – no knives, no stitches. Within the first day, many patients begin seeing some improvement. The valve, a device shaped like a pencil eraser, is inserted into the lobes of the damaged lungs without surgery.

Jamie Yunger, MD, medical director of Atrium’s Intensive Care Unit, performed the first Zephyr Endobronchial Valve procedure in the Dayton and Cincinnati region in 2019 and was the second physician in Ohio to perform this procedure.

The Zephyr Endobronchial Valve can offer patients significant benefits, including improvements over baseline in lung function as well as improvements in exercise capacity, according to a recent study by Pulmonx Corp., a global supplier of minimally invasive treatments for severe lung disease.

Patients from as far as Pennsylvania and Kentucky have driven to Atrium Medical Center to have the Zephyr Valves inserted. According to a recent study by the American Lung Association, 16.4 million Americans, or 6.6 percent of adults, were diagnosed with COPD, chronic bronchitis, or emphysema.

Back to the November 2021 issue of Premier Pulse