Two of Atlantic Health System’s hospitals, Overlook Medical Center in Summit and Morristown Medical Center, are helping people with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease/emphysema to breathe easier without undergoing invasive surgery, by using a breakthrough device.
Pulmonologists at both hospitals have been trained to use Zephyr Valves, a minimally invasive treatment that works by releasing trapped air in damaged parts of the lung, while preventing new air from entering. This allows the healthier parts of the lungs to work more effectively.
Until now, patients who can be treated with Zephyr Valves could only be treated with medicines like inhalers or more invasive surgical procedures, including lung transplants and lung volume reduction surgery. However, treatment with bronchoscopic lung volume reduction using Zephyr Valves is usually complete in under an hour and allows patients to enjoy a better quality of life.
“Patients with severe COPD and emphysema often struggle with each breath, even with medication and oxygen therapy, and relief is often elusive for them” Dr. Christopher DeCotiis, co-director of the interventional pulmonology program for Atlantic Health System, said. He is one of the pulmonologists leading the treatment with Zephyr Valves at Overlook and Morristown medical centers. “It is incredible to be able to not only offer these patients that sought-after relief, but also to be able to provide it in a minimally invasive way.”
In addition to DeCotiis, use of the Zephyr is being led by his fellow co-director of interventional pulmonology, Dr. Bhavi Patel, and pulmonologist Dr. Robert Restifo.
Emphysema is a progressive and life-threatening lung disease, and a severe form of COPD. There is no cure, and patients live with severe shortness of breath that keeps them from doing simple daily activities like walking, or taking a shower, without pausing to catch their breath or resting. This extreme shortness of breath is caused when air becomes trapped in parts of the lung that are damaged by the disease. This trapped air causes the damaged areas of the lungs to get larger, which puts pressure on the diaphragm and makes breathing difficult.
Using the Zephyr Valves, a physician places an average of four valves to occlude a hyperinflated part of the lung, allowing air to escape while blocking airflow into the treated part of the lung. This allows the healthier parts of the lungs to expand and relieves the pressure on the diaphragm, which decreases shortness of breath and makes breathing easier.
The Zephyr Valve was fast-tracked through the FDA’s “Breakthrough Device” designation due to the strong clinical data and significant patient need. As part of the supporting evidence for the FDA premarket approval, four randomized controlled clinical trials, including the U.S. approval study, LIBERATE, was conducted. Data from the study showed that implantation of the Zephyr Valves successfully reduced shortness of breath while improving lung function, exercise capacity and quality of life. These benefits lasted at least one-year post-treatment for patients with severe emphysema.
More than 15 million Americans suffer from COPD, and 3.5 million of those patients have emphysema. Despite using COPD medications, more than 1 million emphysema patients continue to suffer symptoms of hyperinflation, in which air becomes trapped in the lungs and prevents new air from coming in, causing severe shortness of breath.
