COPD and Zephyr Valve procedure
Has anyone had this done or any options. That would be extremely helpful
this is a popular topic in our community! You can read more about others experiences here: https://copd.net/forums/zephyr-valve-treatment-discussion All the best, Sam S. (COPD team). Great question! We are starting a program here at the hospital I work at so as soon as we've done a few, I'll post how it went and what the patients had to say.
Lyn (moderator, COPD.net)Hello suffering people like me. Some time ago, I responded to a discussion about Zephyr valves manufactured by the Pulmonix corp. headquartered in San Francisco, California. Yes I had it done at a hospital in Winchester Virginia as the Veterans Administration healthcare did not include this at their hospital in Martinsburg, West Virginia. The VA did cover the cost in full through the Care in the Community Program. It costs plenty.
The first question I asked the doctor who was to perform the down the throat and into the lung procedure was can you guarantee that I will not die from the procedure. He said no. There is a 25% chance that there will be a tear in the lung so you will be monitored for three days in the hospital.
I underwent general anesthesia three times, three intubations and three poking around inside the upper (smaller) lobe of the left lung. The doctor said, after the first procedure, "we made a mess in there." Not funny.
To make a long story shorter...it did not work for me, I was more breathless.
Intubation #2, make a valve adjustment and allow more time to see a positive result. No improvement. Final procedure, remove all five zephyr valves.
