Airway interventions in the tracheobronchial tree.

The field of interventional pulmonary medicine is a relatively new area in pulmonary medicine resulting from the technological advances, as well as the increasing need for palliative and curative treatment modalities for patients with tracheobronchial, parenchymal, and pleural disease. This article reviews the advances in endoscopic techniques aimed to the tracheobronchial tree, including foreign body removal, laser photoresection, electrosurgery, argon-plasma coagulation (APC), photodynamic therapy, cryotherapy, balloon bronchoplasty, stent placement, brachytherapy, bronchial thermoplasty, transtracheal oxygen catheter placement, as well as treatment of airway complications after lung transplantation.