Karakoca® Resector Balloon
In the treatment of local or widely localized superficial tumoral lesions in the trachea and bronchi, the balloon, which has coatings on its outer surface capable of resection, is inflated in the lumen and allows the tumor tissue to be shaved and resected. The inflated balloon also provides bleeding control with the tamponade effect and this important complication is prevented. KARAKOCA ® RESECTOR BALLOON is an effective, safe, practical and economical method in the treatment of endoluminal tumoral lesions.
Occlusions in the airways of patients with lung cancer can cause many negative conditions.
*The respiratory distress caused by this obstruction limits the patient’s effort capacity and negatively affects the quality of life.
*It causes recurrent lung infections with secretion accumulation behind the obstruction, which causes deterioration in the general condition of the patients.
*Patients are frequently exposed to the side effects of radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatments for both reasons.
*Sudden bleeding that may develop in tumors in the trachea and bronchi can be fatal.
* As a result of the fact that the tumors cause fistulas, that is, holes, in the wall of the esophagus through the airway, the escape of food into the lungs causes respiratory distress, recurrent lung infections and a rapid deterioration in the general condition.
*Tracheo-bronchial fistulas (holes in the airway) that develop as a result of the effects of the tumors themselves or the side effects of radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatments also cause fatal respiratory distress and infections.
For these reasons, interventional bronchoscopy is life-saving in patients with these complications, thus increasing the quality and duration of life.
Frequently Asked Questions And Answers About COPD Resector Balloon Therapy
Increased smoking, biomass fuel smoke, exposure to chemicals or genetic diseases may trigger a process that will require COPD Resector Balloon Therapy. Today, lung balloon therapy is applied in asthma, lung cancer, chronic bronchitis, COPD and some other lumenal organ stenosis and is also called COPD Resector Balloon Surgery. We have taken care to answer the most frequently asked questions about the treatment developed and patented by Yalçın Karakoca in 2006 and applied for 15 years, in detail for those who complain about lung diseases.
What is COPD Resector Balloon Therapy?
Curative balloon therapy, also known as lung balloon therapy or curative bronchoplasty, is an operation applied to people with COPD disease or chronic bronchitis and mixed COPD subtypes for various reasons. As you know, COPD stands for “Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease”, it manifests itself in the form of chronic obstruction of your lungs, namely your bronchi. COPD is a serious lung disease, and if left untreated or the triggers that cause the disease are not avoided, it can lead to more serious and fatal diseases such as lung cancer.
The treatment basically aims to open all the blocked airways from the central bronchi to the small bronchi of the lung. For this, the treatment is named as COPD Curative Bronchoplasty Balloon Treatment Surgery, since resector balloons are used to relieve the obstruction during the surgical application. After intervention with the resector balloon, it is recommended that the patient stay away from triggers that damage the lungs.
Who Are Candidates for the COPD Resector Balloon?
The treatment is administered to patients suffering from various lung function disorders. Patients who use cigarettes and tobacco products come first. The bronchi in the lungs of people who smoke for a long time are blocked by the defense mechanism of the lung and the mucous secretion produced by the Goblet Cells. Apart from cigarette and tobacco product users, those who have to breathe gases containing harmful particles for a long time can also suffer from COPD disease and its derivatives.
Emphysema and chronic bronchitis, which are frequently mentioned with COPD today, are both types of COPD. Although oxygen therapy has been used for a long time, COPD Resector Balloon Therapy, which is applied with a resector balloon for the opening of the bronchi in chronic bronchitis and mixed COPD, has started to be used as an effective method.
Those who are exposed to cigarette smoke as well as those who use cigarettes and tobacco products are at risk of COPD. However, tobacco products are not the only source of gases rich in harmful particles. Biological wastes such as dung burned for heating, especially in rural areas of Anatolia, are called biomass, and the smoke that comes out when they are burned can seriously damage the lungs. In the same way, COPD Balloon Therapy can be applied to those who are exposed to harmful gases such as marble dust and exhaust gas for a long time and have bronchial obstruction.
In the scope of the application of the treatment, there are also people with lung cancer and clogged bronchi, patients with severe and difficult asthma, and patients who intubated for a long time in the intensive care unit, diagnosed with PITS. Among these diseases, especially asthma, may manifest itself due to various allergen chemical substances. Some asthma patients are genetically predisposed to this disease. Briefly, the people listed below may be in the group suitable for treatment for COPD Resector Balloon Surgery.
- Those who use cigarettes or tobacco products for a long time
- Those who have to inhale cigarette smoke or gases rich in harmful particles for a long time
- Chronic Bronchitis and mixed COPD patients
- Patients Diagnosed with PITS
- Treatment-resistant and oral steroid-dependent severe asthma patients
By Who And How Is The Decision Of COPD Resector Balloon Treatment Taken?
As with any serious surgical intervention, the decision for curative balloon bronchoplasty treatment is made together with the doctor and the patients. The determining factor is a measurement known as FEV1. FEV1 measures the rate at which a person exhales in 1 second. In people with healthy lungs, the FEV1 value is expected to be 80% of the normal. On the other hand, if the values are between 80% and 70% Mild, between 70% and 50% Moderate, between 50% and 30% Severe, and 30% and below are diagnosed as Very Severe COPD. If the FEV1 Value is 50% or less, Curative COPD Bronchoplasty Treatment is applied. Lung transplantation is the only alternative in severe lung diseases.
Who Invented the COPD Resector Balloon Therapy Method?
The treatment, patented by Prof. Dr. Yalçın Karakoca in 2006, has been applied and developed for 15 years. Over time, it has been observed that the treatment applied for COPD patients is also effective in preventing complications due to bronchial obstruction in lung cancer patients and deaths due to pneumonia developing after the obstruction, in patients diagnosed with PETS and in people with severe asthma that is resistant to treatment.
The treatment was awarded at the World Bronchology Congress held in Japan in 2008 and continues to be developed. As a result of recent developments, the operation time has been reduced from 120 minutes to 30 minutes. COPD Resector Balloon surgery is a curative (removing the cause) treatment applied with a resector balloon and it is recommended that patients should avoid factors that damage the lungs after surgery. The treatment takes its name from the special small size balloon used. The covered balloon is used to open the blocked parts of the lung. Frequent exposure to factors that trigger lung disorders can cause the patient’s lungs to become clogged again.
Resector is the name given to the tools used to remove a body part (for example, cancerous tissue) in medical terminology. The resector balloon used during the surgery ensures that the goblet cells, which secrete mucus, are scraped and destroyed, while ensuring that clean air reaches the alveoli more easily with the cleaned mucosa and opened airways.
In Which Situations Is the COPD Resector Balloon Emergency? Does surgery contribute to the treatment of lung cancer?
The FEV1 value of severe COPD patients may be in the 10% band. However, PETS, which occurs in intubated patients who have been in intensive care for a long time, may make surgery urgent. Emergency COPD Balloon Therapy is also applied to patients with advanced lung cancer. In advanced lung cancer, bronchial obstruction by tumor can be seen. The tissue that develops as a result of metastasis can make it seriously impossible for the patient to breathe. In this case, with the surgical intervention airway patency is provided, allowing the patient to breathe.
With Resector Balloon treatment, it can prevent death by allowing the patient to breathe again in advanced cancer cases. In addition, experience has shown that the risk of lung cancer in patients is significantly reduced after lung balloon therapy. It is also worth noting that the risk of lung cancer increases in direct proportion as the risk of chronic bronchitis and COPD increases. Despite all these observations, there is no data that any treatment applied all over the world completely and 100% eliminates lung cancer.
