INTERVENTIONAL PULMONOLOGY 

Minerva Pneumologica 2007 June;46(2):109-21

Copyright © 2007 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

Complications in interventional pulmonology

Miranda J. A. ¹, Ernst A. ²

¹ Department of Pulmonary Medicine Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center Lebanon, NH, USA 2 Interventional Pulmonology Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Boston, MA, USA

Interventional pulmonology is a rapidly growing field in which pulmonologists perform minimally invasive, advanced diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Use of these procedures is becoming more common and they are more available to patients in need. This review article describes the interventional pulmonology procedures currently in use and details their common and uncommon complications. Though these procedures are generally very safe, it is important for general pulmonologists to understand the associated complications so as to better inform and advise their patients, and it is imperative that physicians practicing these procedures know these complications in depth.