Bronchial Thermoplasty: A Novel Therapeutic Approach to Severe AsthmaDavid R. Duhamel 1, Jeff B. Hales 2
1Director of Pulmonary Special Procedures and the Lung Cancer Center, Virginia Hospital Center, 2Chief, Division of Pulmonary Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Virginia Hospital Center
Bronchial thermoplasty is a non-drug procedure for severe persistent asthma that delivers thermal energy to the airway wall in a precisely controlled manner to reduce excessive airway smooth muscle. Reducing airway smooth muscle decreases the ability of the airways to constrict, thereby reducing the frequency of asthma attacks.