The Division of Pulmonary Medicine provides diagnostic and treatment services that we apply to combat respiratory failure and a full range of lung diseases and sleep-related breathing disorders.

We are experienced in helping patients through all stages of illness and treatment from a chronic cough or shortness of breath to ventilator management for critically ill patients.

Disorders and diseases that we help our patients manage
Patients benefit from our nine board-certified specialists' expertise and experience in pulmonary medicine, internal medicine and critical care.

Members of the Division of Pulmonary Medicine also serve on the faculty of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and are members of St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center's Department of Medicine.

We offer special expertise in the diagnosis and treatment of emphysema.

We work closely together and with other medical specialists to develop and provide the most effective care and rehabilitation regime for many other pulmonary problems including:
     • Acute lung injury
     • Adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)
     • Asthma
     • Bronchitis
     • Chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD)
     • Interstitial lung disease (pulmonary fibrosis)
     • Lung cancer (detection, diagnosis and treatment)
     • Occupational and environmental lung disease
     • Pulmonary embolism
     • Pulmonary hypertension
     • Pulmonary vascular disease
     • Respiratory control
     • Sarcoidosis
     • Sleep disordered breathing (sleep apnea)
 

Advanced facilities and services reinforce our patient treatment capabilities

Asthma management education
In addition to providing treatment, the division helps educate asthma patients in self-care and treatment options. We provide information and guidance in areas such as:
     • Understanding asthma
     • Understanding "quick-relief" and "controller" medications
     • Using a metered-dose inhaler and other medications
     • Using a peak flow meter
     • Managing an asthma attack
     • Identifying and avoiding triggers
     • Managing stress and nutrition
 

Pulmonary function testing laboratory
This special lab enables us to evaluate and monitor our patients' breathing capabilities and lung function before and after treatment or surgery. The lab also helps us to assess a patient's pre-operative risk.

Patients benefit from pulmonary function tests, exercise testing and inhalation challenges.

Pulmonary function tests help us identify respiratory diseases and determine the degree of breathing impairment a patient is experiencing. With regularly scheduled testing, we can track an illness' progression and a treatment's effectiveness. We also conduct methacholine bronchial provoction (MBP) tests to diagnose bronchial hyper-reactivity -- a feature of asthma -- in patients with symptoms resembling asthma when the results from other pulmonary function tests are normal.

We apply MBP procedures to evaluate the lung function and the effects of exercise on patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD).

Cardiopulmonary exercise testing to determine why an individual is short of breath
Is it the heart or are the lungs causing an individual's shortness of breath? The division's state-of-the-art cardiopulmonary exercise testing facilities enable our specialists to clarify the relative impact of pulmonary disease and cardiac disease on a patient's breathing difficulties. We integrate traditional EKG stress testing with breath-by-breath measurements of a patient's respiratory system efficiency to determine heart and lung abnormalities. Our comprehensive cardiopulmonary testing capabilities enable us to effectively determine the

• Cause of breathing difficulties

• Functional impact of congestive heart failure

• Patient's pre-operative risks

• Existence of specific disabilities

• Patient's response to therapy

• Most effective exercise programs for individual patients

Pulmonary illness exercise/rehabilitation program
In conjunction with the medical group's close association with St Luke's and Roosevelt Hospitals, our patients benefit from the hospitals' outpatient pulmonary rehab program. It includes special pulmonary fitness classes and an educational component covering topics such as:

• Managing pulmonary illness

• Nutrition counseling

• Understanding and properly using medications

• Illness prevention guidelines

• Stress reduction

• Reinforcement of breathing techniques

Smoking cessation program
We base our highly successful smoking cessation program on the philosophy that each patient's cessation plan must be integrated into their medical care.

Some participants have serious pulmonary or cardiovascular disease, or cancer; others are relatively healthy.

For every participant, we perform a complete medical assessment and work closely with their physician to determine the best strategies for success.

In addition to providing intense psychological support, we apply nicotine replacement and behavioral modification techniques. Members of the team speak Spanish.

Bronchoscopy suite
A bronchoscopy is a procedure we rely on to examine the lungs' main airways -- the bronchi. We use a flexible tube called a bronchoscope, equipped with a miniature video camera, to gather real-time information within the lungs.

Our modern bronchoscopy suite's fiber-optic bronchoscopy system enables us to perform bronchial biopsies and brushings, laser therapy and endobronchial stent placement.

This state-of-the-art facility helps us evaluate and diagnose lung problems, assess blockages, obtain tissue and fluid samples, or remove a foreign body. We can also investigate the cause of a patient's cough or abnormal chest X-ray.

Research is an important element of improving patient care
Members of the Division of Pulmonary Medicine are committed to participating in leading-edge research.

Ongoing research programs focus on the study of airway biology, lung vascular permeability and chronic obstructive lung disease -- including alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency. This genetic disease may lead to the early onset of emphysema and possibly liver disease -- especially in younger people.

Other research projects focus on the diagnosis and treatment of asthma and emphysema, and the management of critically ill patients, especially those with sepsis, sepsis shock and infections.

Links where you can obtain important medical information

American Thoracic Society

American Lung Association

American College of Chest Physicians

James P. Mara Center for Lung Disease

Contact the division for information, an appointment or consultation
Administrative offices
Roosevelt Hospital: (212) 523-7352
St. Luke's Hospital: (212) 523-3610
 

Division Members

Please See Our Doctors

Insurance plan information
Manhattan Management Services
Ms. Robin Worley
Phone: (212) 315-0144 Ex. 423
E-mail: info@mmsppm.com