RADIAL-EBUS: Early diagnosis of lung cancer
An important step for the early diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer is the application of the innovative Radial Ebus technique, the most modern and safe method for identifying solitary pulmonary nodules in the lungs.
The method is applied exclusively at the Diabalkaniko Medical Center of Thessaloniki, with great success, by the scientific team of Pulmonologist – Interventional Pulmonologist, Dr. Iraklis Titopoulos.
As the distinguished pulmonologist stated: “With Radial EBUS we have the ability to approach an incipient tumor, when it is still small in size, to obtain cytological and histological material in order to extract early diagnostic data, before it is too late. All this can be done in an endoscopic room, without general anesthesia, without hospitalization, without pain on the part of the patient.”
How the operation is performed
During R-EBUS, a flexible ultrasound catheter, 1.4 mm in diameter, through a guide (GS) passes through the working channel of the bronchoscope and with fluoroscopic guidance (FLU-guided) is advanced to the lesion, where the endoscope cannot reach.
The EBUS radial probe uses a flexible catheter, which surrounds a rotating ultrasound transducer. The transducer is moved to bronchial segments until the location of the lesion is demonstrated with the help of ultrasound, at which time the necessary sampling of material from the bronchus is performed. A swab is taken through the GS and a rapid cytological examination (ROSE) is performed simultaneously by a specialist cytologist and forceps biopsies and/or cryobiopsies for histological examination.
Advantages of the method
The advantages of RADIAL – EBUS are multiple:
- No hospitalization required
- The examination is performed in an endoscopic room with mild anesthesia
- The diagnostic result is immediate with the ROSE method
- The accuracy of the examination is not affected by respiratory movements
- Minimization of complications, such as pneumothorax and bleeding, compared to other techniques (transthoracic CT scan)
- The procedure is painless
- High diagnostic yield (>80%)
RADIAL-EBUS is currently considered the method of choice for the early diagnosis of solitary pulmonary nodules. It offers safety, high diagnostic results and radical treatment.
For more medical information, call 2310 400000 (ext. 4515)
