Pulmonologist

If you think of tires when you think of "Pneu", you are not so wrong: Just like a tire, the human lungs are primarily filled with air. Of the Pulmonologist is therefore the specialist for lung diseases. From asthma to lung cancer, everything is covered in principle.

What is a pulmonologist?

Pneumology is a branch of medicine as pulmonary medicine and is sometimes referred to as pulmonology or pulmonology. It is a specialist specialization from the large area of ​​internal medicine.

Of the Pulmonologist deals not only with diseases of the lungs themselves, but also with problems that affect the surrounding tissue such as the pleura and the pleura or the mediastinum (middle layer).

Treatments

The treatment spectrum of the Pulmonologist thus comprises a wide range of common diseases of civilization, the age structure of the patient population is very mixed for the pulmonologist.

He takes over adolescent asthmatics from the pediatrician as soon as they have passed their age limit, treats acute and chronic bronchitis of all ages and has a lot to do with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and pulmonary emphysema], the overinflation of the lungs, in middle-aged and older patients to do.

In the area of ​​occupational diseases, there are various pulmonary fibrosis and work-specific diagnoses such as the farmer's lung, the winemaker's lung or the woodworker's lung, all of which are caused by short-term or years-long inhalation of organic dust.

Another large area of ​​his specialty is bronchial carcinoma, the classic "lung cancer", and all other tumor diseases of the lungs and pleura such as asbestos-related pleural mesothelioma.

Other lung-associated diseases such as pulmonary embolism, which can develop as an acute vascular occlusion as a result of thrombosis, or pleural effusion as a sign of heart failure, also belong strictly to the field of pulmonology, but are often also treated by other general internists or cardiologists. The same applies to acute infections such as acute bronchitis, tuberculosis or pneumonia - if there is a pulmonology ward in larger hospitals, you always end up there with pneumonia.

Again in the area of ​​younger patients there are chronic diseases such as cystic fibrosis, also known as cystic fibrosis, which requires permanent care first by a pediatrician, then by a pulmonologist and unfortunately often leads to death in young adulthood. Another fairly common and serious illness that can clearly be attributed to the pulmonologist's territory is chronic high blood pressure of the pulmonary circulation, known in technical jargon as pulmonary hypertension.

Diagnosis & examination methods

Since many patients also owe their chronic lung diseases to smoking, the pulmonologist must attach great importance to education and prophylactic measures such as smoking cessation.

Measures frequently used in diagnostics are first of all the usual general medical means such as taking anamnesis, auscultation with the stethoscope or percussion, in which the doctor taps the patient's chest with his finger and uses sound attenuation or amplification as an indication of compression or collapse respects the lungs. Technically, it is then with the classic "chest X-ray", ie the X-ray image of the lungs, and the radiological imaging measures based on it, such as chest CT or lung scintigraphy.

With a flexible thin tube, analogous to gastroscopy, the bronchial system can also be viewed optically (bronchoscopy) - the patient can stay awake if necessary - the same principle also works for the mediastinum and the chest (mediastinoscopy and thoracoscopy), whereby it However, these are major interventions in the operating room and under general anesthesia.

Another large area of ​​pneumological diagnostics is functional diagnostics, which requires the active cooperation of the patient: With spirometry and body plethysmography, you breathe into a sack or mask and a device records the physical air movement, which allows parameters such as the inhalation and derive the exhalation volume and the air flow strength of the lungs.

Special illnesses such as infections or allergies must be determined using smear and pathogen diagnostics or allergy tests. Therapeutically, in addition to physical measures such as breathing training or special training for chronic patients, there is a lot that can be achieved with medication. Frequently prescribed drugs in pulmonology are bronchodilators or cortisone preparations that suppress the immune system. Optimally, both can be used as a spray, but in more severe cases also as a tablet or as an injection into the vein.

If the air becomes permanently worse, a pulmonologist can also prescribe home oxygen devices for permanent ventilation after exhausting the other options. When it comes to surgery, for example in the case of bronchial carcinoma, the pulmonologist will refer to his surgical colleague in thoracic surgery.

What should the patient pay attention to?

When choosing a suitable Pulmonologist Of course, one should consider the doctor's experience, i.e. how long he worked in the clinic, whether he was a senior physician there, what diseases he mainly dealt with there and whether he perhaps also has or had special scientific interests as a researcher.

All of this is of course difficult to find out overnight. If in doubt, your family doctor should recommend a suitable specialist. Strategic things like the distance between the practice and the place of residence naturally also play an important role. In the end, you have to rely on your own feelings anyway, whether you feel that you are in good hands after the first consultation with a doctor, or whether you would rather look for alternatives again.

One should be careful with reviews on the Internet. As a rough estimate, they can sometimes be very interesting and helpful, but they are not really credible: If you really want it, you can write your own recommendations at any time or have them written. At the same time, almost every doctor in Google searches always contains a frustration-filled negative criticism from a patient who did not receive the expected miracle healing after the first doctor's appointment - this only spoils the seeker's mood and from the start spoils the doctor who needs to be trusted -Patient ratio.

It is always better to rely on your own assessment or the well-founded experience of friends or other doctors.