Thorax 1986;41:485-486 A new bronchoscopy set for laser therapy

Bronchoscopic laser therapy is now an established method of relieving neoplastic tracheobronchial obstructions. Much of the previous work, however, has been done with the flexible fibreoptic bronchoscope in conscious patients, under sedation and local anaesthesia. Besides the obvious discom-fort to the patient the use of the flexible fibreoptic bron-choscope for laser therapy under local anaesthesia has short-comings related to the bronchoscope itself. These include the inadequate provision for suction and the difficulty of removing debris, both ofwhich adversely affect the efficiency of the operation. Some operators place a rigid bronchoscope first, through which they then introduce the flexible fibreoptic bronchoscope, to ventilate the patient, or to aspirate the tracheobronchial secretions through the rigid bronchoscope intermittently ' (or both); but this is a rather cumbersome manoeuvre. We have therefore designed a new bronchoscopic set for laser therapy that overcomes these difficulties. ii