It is the branch of medicine concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of lung and respiratory diseases.

Major Areas of Interest

Asthma

Asthma is a respiratory tract disease which causes difficulty in breathing as a result of contraction and narrowing of bronchi comprising respiratory tract, swelling of bronchus membrane or obstruction of airways by sticky fluids such as phlegm, and hyperresponsiveness. 

It is possible to prevent asthma attacks by taking measures at patient’s home and environment. Furry animals, smoke and fragrances such cigarette smoke, sprays, perfumes should be kept away from home.  Items attracting dust and mold, such as carpets and rugs should be removed.  The house and room should be ventilated frequently.

There are relaxants to stop asthma attacks in treatment. Vaccine therapy is used where prevention methods and medications aren’t adequate.

Tuberculosis (TB)

Tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by TB germs called Koch’s bacillus. Although TB germs mainly settle in lungs, they may spread to the whole body via blood.

The first requirement of treatment is good nutrition and fresh air. Moreover, maintaining general health and morale is crucial to increase body resistance and facilitate haling. After diagnosis of the patient, s/he must receive drug treatment, including various antibiotics in particular, for at least 6 months. 

Bronchitis

It is an inflammation of the lower respiratory tract caused by inflammation of the membrane in the interior of the lungs.

The first thing to do is to give up smoking and avoid exposure to cigarette smoke. You should stay away from dusty and polluted air as much as possible, take care to have a healthy diet and be cautious against colds. During the treatment to be followed up by your doctor, in addition bronchodilators and expectorants, anti-inflammatory drugs and antibiotics can be used.  Also, correct respiratory exercises can be done.

Pneumonia

Pneumonia is a dangerous lung disease with manifestation of pain, fever and cough. The disease develops in lungs as inflammation and is caused by microorganisms such as bacteria or fungi. 

Types of Pneumonia

Lobar Pneumonia:  It is a type of pneumonia caused by a germ called pneumococcus.  

Virus Pneumonia: It is a kind of pneumonia caused by viruses. 

Bronchopneumonia :  It is a disease that emerges after a cold, whooping cough, bronchitis or measles, which hasn’t been treated well. 

After its cause is established, drugs are administered according to its cause.

Emphysema (COPD)

Emphysema is a disease particularly induced by long-term smoking and mostly causes shortness of breath. 

It is essential to treat this disease with medication. However, in later stages, benefits of drug treatment begin to cease. In that stage, shortness of breath increases rapidly and begins to cause a life-threatening situation. In that case, lung volume reduction surgery, which is an experimental treatment, can be performed. 

Lung Cancer

Lung cancer develops as a result of excessive and uncontrolled proliferation of cells of the lungs or respiratory tract. One of the most important factors of lung cancer is smoking cigarettes and their derivatives.  In addition, exposure to asbestos and radon gas  and genetic predisposition also play an important role in the formation of lung cancer.  .

Success of treatment is related to the stage of the disease.  Surgical method is applied in the initial stages of the disease and it is the most effective method with exact chance of survival from the disease.  Cryosurgery, i.e. a method which involves destruction of cancer cells by freezing can also be applied in the case of early detected lung cancer.  Surgical treatment can be supported by chemotherapy.  In advanced stages of the disease, chemotherapy and in some cases, radiation therapy, are applied. Where the patient has shortness of breath and is not eligible for surgery, the tumor can be removed using a bronchoscope.

Diagnostic Methods in Use

X-Ray

X-ray examination is a fast and painless procedure that allows display of structures, especially bones in your body.

Ultrasonography

Ultrasound uses sound waves to view internal organs of the body.  Frequency of the sound waves used is so high that a human ear cannot hear. The amount of sound reflected by each tissue will be different so the image perceived will be different. Thus, tissues and organs will be seen on the screen of ultrasound device. By this method, different images can be detected for tissues like a cyst or tumor.

Computed tomography

It is a special imaging technique that gives a cross-sectional image of the tissues and organs of the body using x-rays.  In comparison to ordinary plain radiographs, CT provides more detailed information about head injuries, brain tumors and other brain disorders. Bone, soft tissues and blood vessels can also be displayed by CT.

MR

MR i.e. Magnetic Resonance Imaging is a painless diagnostic technique which doesn’t utilize rays that may cause harm, such as x-rays, in other words, which doesn’t involve radiation. Giving successful results especially in the display of soft-tissues, MR involves creation of an image by means of radiofrequency waves in a strong magnetic field.   Due to its success in the case of soft tissues, cancerous areas which can not be identified in other diagnostic methods can be detected. 

Bronchoscopy

Bronchoscopy can be defined as direct examination of the throat, larynx, trachea and bronchial tree using an endoscopic camera with light on its tip.  It can be used for diagnostic investigations as well as for treatment purposes, including removing foreign objects from airways, invasive removal of benign and malignant tumors arising from trachea and main bronchi and causing extreme shortness of breath in patients, and stenting stenoses of trachea and main bronchi, which have developed for various reasons.

PET/ CT

One of today’s most effective imaging techniques, PET CT (Positron Emission Tomography) is utilized for diagnosis, staging , treatment response assessment and radiotherapy planning of  many cancers, including particularly lung, colon, head – neck cancers and lymphomas.  PET CT is also informative about the distribution of cancerous cells and allows determination of whether a cancer is benign or malignant.