Why is a bronchoscopy done?
Sometimes it is important to watch the movement of these structures during the different stages of the breathing cycle. At times it is important for diagnostic purposes to obtain some of the fluids in the lung through the bronchoscope for evaluation in the laboratory. The scope has a special channel through which we can vacuum some of the liquid lining from the airways. A bronchoscopy allows a physician to perform diagnostic tests, to obtain specimens for biopsy and culture, or to remove foreign objects that children might have inhaled. What is a bronchoscope? The bronchoscope is a soft (flexible) tube with an outer diameter as small as 2.2 mm and there are larger sizes for use with larger children and adults. The scope can be easily passed through the nose or the mouth. The flexible tube actually contains a fiber-optic system which attaches to a video camera and a source of light. The light travels through the scope and lights up the inside of the airway. The image seen at the tip of
