Treating lung disease with minimally invasive surgery
MQ Health is a leading destination for advanced interventional pulmonology procedures to treat conditions of the lung and chest.
At MQ Health Respiratory and Sleep, our interventional pulmonologists are dedicated to diagnosing and treating lung disease utilising the latest minimally invasive techniques.
We were the first centre in the world to perform innovative electroporation therapy for patients with Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with predominantly chronic bronchitis.
Our services
Our interventional pulmonology services include:
- Bronchial thermoplasty – we have been performing bronchial thermoplasty in patients with severe refractory asthma since early 2014.
- Cryobiopsy and cryotherapy – using a cryoprobe in the lung is a relatively new technique that can be used to obtain tissue samples from abnormal lung (cryobiopsy), remove cancers blocking the airway (cryoextraction) and treat superficial airway cancers (cryotherapy).
- Dilatation/stenting of airways – a procedure performed to enlarge and stent open airways that are abnormally narrowed.
- Endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) – abnormal lesions in the chest can be sampled without the need for invasive surgery.
- Endoscopic Lung Volume Reduction (ELVR) – ELVR or endoscopic lung volume reduction is a form of non-surgical lung volume reduction to treat people with severe emphysema.
- Flexible bronchoscopy – a procedure performed to directly visualise airways and allow specimens to be obtained if required.
Our interventional pulmonologists work collaboratively in a multi-disciplinary team model.
During the treatment journey, our specialists collaborate with physicians and support staff with specific expertise in a wide range of pulmonary conditions.
The combined expertise of our physicians can offer patients access to the latest advances in the fields of interventional pulmonology and sleep disorders.
Our service's medical specialists are:
- Professor Alvin Ing
- Associate Professor Jonathan Williamson
- Dr Tajalli Saghaie
- Clinical Professor Martin Phillips
At MQ Health's Respiratory and Sleep, our physicians in interventional pulmonology are at the forefront of their field and are actively engaged in research.
We publish extensively in high impact peer-reviewed journals, and present regularly at national and international scientific meetings.
Many of us are also involved on the editorial boards of major journals, and actively contribute or lead consensus statements and documents on guidelines of management of many common respiratory issues and diseases.
Our physicians have also been involved in designing and implementing national standards for recognition of competence for common thoracic procedures such as ultrasound and bronchoscopy.
Our physicians provide multidisciplinary clinical supervision, training and education in patient care environments including for:
- nursing
- allied health
- junior medical staff
- other members of the multidisciplinary team.
We also supervise and mentor young researchers, providing opportunities for both laboratory and clinical research into areas such as new therapies in interventional pulmonology.
We are currently supervising over eight PhD students, and are also supervising fellows and registrars, as well as MD research projects for medical students.
Interventional Pulmonology Clinical Fellowship
MQ Health offers a 12 month Interventional Pulmonology and Respiratory Fellowship. The role has a significant interventional component and is ideal for a new fellow seeking to further their skills in interventional pulmonology with MQ Health at the forefront of this new subspecialty.
The Fellowship offers the opportunity to:
- be mentored and work alongside a team respiratory and sleep physicians and other specialists within the team
- be exposed to a wide range of respiratory cases and procedures, including both linear and radial EBUS, rigid bronchoscopy, cryobiopsy of both central and peripheral lung lesions, endoscopic laser resection and stent deployment and bronchial thermoplasty in the management of refractory asthma. MQ Health Respiratory is also at the forefront of both management and research into bronchoscopic techniques for lung volume reduction in COPD. This includes endobronchial valves, thermal ablation and the use of polymer sealant. The successful candidate will also have the opportunity to develop skills in performing pleural procedures under the guidance of the clinical supervisor.
- collaborate with groups across MQ Health to participate in research projects and clinical trial studies including a first in-human project investigating the role of electroporation therapy in chronic bronchitis
- supervise and train students, registrars and other Doctors in Training and contribute to educational activities with MQ Health.