A promising treatment for broncholith removal using cryotherapy during flexible bronchosopy: Two case reports

Abstract

Broncholiths are defined as calcified materials that occur in a tracheobronchial tree or in a cavity communicating with that. Broncholith has variable clinical features. The therapeutic options to remove broncholiths are so variable that clinicians need to select the most safe and effective methods by mass size, mobility, and location. As yet, there is no consistent guideline removing a broncholith. We report 2 successful cases of removing a fixed broncholith by flexible bronchoscopy guided cryoadhesion. With repeated technique of thawing and freezing with cryoprobe, we could extract the fixed broncholith safely. This method is promising as a way to remove broncholith in the future. Copyright©2012. The Korean Academy of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases. All rights reserved.