Interventional Pulmonology

Program Director: Michael Simoff, M.D.

Our interventional pulmonology (IP) program, founded in the late 1990s, is one of the most experienced in the U.S. We can offer patients the most options for managing complex airways disease as well as provide advanced diagnostic procedures to assist in evaluating each patient’s condition.

• Make a Referral
• Transferring Patients to Henry Ford Hospital
• Tumor Board Evaluation

Our goal is to assist physicians in the evaluation or management of a chest or airways problem. We consider ourselves partners with the referring physician in the management of the patient's problem. After an advanced diagnostic evaluation, we send the pathology reports to the patient’s physician as soon as they are available and have been checked by one of our IP staff, usually 4 days after the procedure is completed. The referring physician will receive our consultation report, procedure reports, pathology reports, and any other results of tests performed as part of the patient’s evaluation.

IP services

Advanced Diagnostic Techniques and Technologies

Henry Ford’s Interventional Pulmonology team is among a few in the nation developing and using the newest diagnostic technologies. On many occasions it is necessary to use multiple techniques to make the diagnosis for a patient. As our program offers all techniques we can use the best procedure or combination of procedures for every patient. In addition to routine diagnostic bronchoscopy we offer:

• Autofluoresence Bronchoscopy
• Endobronchial Ultrasound Guided Transbronchial Needle Aspiration
• Endobronchial Ultrasound for Peripheral Lesions
• Endobronchial Ultrasound to assess Central airways
• Electromagnetic Guidance Techniques
• Transbronchial Needle Aspiration Biopsy
• Rigid and Flexible Biopsy Techniques
• Robotic Bronchoscopy
• CT Guided Bronchoscopic procedures

Interventional Pulmonology: Advanced Therapeutic Techniques

• Rigid and Flexible Bronchoscopy
  • Laser Therapy (neodymium:YAG , KTP, CO2)
  • Cryotherapy
  • Electrocautery
  • Argon Plasma Coagulation
  • Microdebriedment
  • Balloon Dilatation
  • Brachytherapy
  • Fibrin Glue Application
  • Photodynamic Therapy
  • Bronchoscopic Lung Volume Reduction for COPD
  • Endobronchial Valve Placement
  • Bronchial Thermoplasty
  • Airway Stenting
    • Metallic Stents
    • Silastic Stents
    • Hybrid Stents
    • Montgomery T-tubes
• Metallic Stent Removal
• Medical Thoracoscopy
  • Diagnostic
  • Therapeutic
• Indwelling Pleural Catheter Placement and Management
• Whole Lung Lavage (Single and Bilateral)

Multimodality Therapy For Complex Airways Diseases

We offer every diagnostic and therapeutic modality, because every problem like every patient is different and we want to ensure that we have the capacity to help the greatest number of patients as is possible. Most patients will require some combination of diagnostic and/or therapeutic procedures to diagnose or treat their condition. Our goal is to offer this complete approach to every patient when they present to us.

We evaluate and treat both malignant and non-malignant pulmonary diseases with Interventional Pulmonary techniques. We have an aggressive program for the management of endobronchial tumor growth (tumor growing in the airway) as well as extrinsic airway compression (tumor or some other structure squeezing the airways from outside of them). By treating patients with compromised airways before other therapies begin, we can improve a patient’s breathing capacity and therefore often the ability to tolerate their treatment. We have also created a comprehensive program for the management of tracheal stenosis, tracheobronchomalacia, tracheoesophageal fistulas, airway papillomas, and post surgical bronchopleural fistulas. The Interventional Pulmonology team also performs single and bilateral whole lung lavage for pulmonary alveolar proteinosis.