Severe
Emphysema
Treatment Options

With the right treatment, you may
breathe more easily, be more active, and enjoy a better quality of life¹.

Treatment Options for Emphysema

Together with your primary healthcare provider, which could be your general practitioner or pulmonologist, you can create a treatment plan that works for you.
Many people will use more than one kind of treatment to manage their symptoms. Different treatment combinations will work better for different people.

Treatment Options

Non-surgical

Non-surgical options include COPD medicines, such as inhalers and oral steroids, stopping smoking programmes, pulmonary rehabilitation and oxygen therapy.

COPD medicines

These may include inhalers, oral steroids, antibiotics, or other prescription drugs.

Stop smoking programmes

Smoking cessation programs help you quit smoking to prevent further damage to your lungs.

Rehabilitation

Your doctor can recommend a rehabilitation course to help you exercise your lungs and learn to breathe more efficiently.

Oxygen therapy

Emphysema reduces the amount of oxygen that reaches your bloodstream. Your doctor can prescribe you oxygen therapy if medication does not help you enough.

Minimally Invasive Bronchoscopic

Lung volume reduction with endobronchial valves

Bronchoscopic or minimally invasive lung volume reduction with endobronchial valves. Endobronchial valves are a breakthrough technology that is clinically proven to help patients breathe easier, be more active, and enjoy a better quality of life¹.

The endobronchial valves are not another medication or surgery. It is a minimally invasive procedure that uses a bronchoscope to place small one-way valves in a targeted, diseased lobe of your lung where trapped air is causing shortness of breath. The endobronchial valves allow trapped air from your treated lung to escape while preventing air from entering that lung lobe and so hyperinflation in the lung is reduced. Reducing this hyperinflation allows the healthier parts of your lung to expand and function better, so you can breathe easier and enjoy a better quality of life¹. If you’ve stopped smoking, or are willing to stop, and medical management is no longer working, you may be suitable for a minimally invasive option.

Surgical

Lung volume reduction with surgery and bullectomy

The operation is usually performed during a procedure called VATS (video assisted thoracoscopic surgery). The surgeon makes a small cut in one side of your chest. A special instrument is used to both cut a diseased portion of the lung and staple the lung at the same time. The staple line seals the cut surface and prevents or reduces any air leaks.

Lung transplant

When the lungs are too damaged to benefit from surgery, certain patients may meet the criteria for lung transplantation surgery. If patients receive this treatment, they must take immune-suppressing medications for the rest of their lives.

Which treatment option might be right for you?

Hear from doctors some treatments for reducing breathlessness.

Watch video

Complications of Endobronchial Valve treatment can include but are not limited to pneumothorax, worsening of COPD symptoms, hemoptysis, pneumonia, dyspnea and, in rare cases, death.

Patient Stories

When I was diagnosed with severe emphysema, a form of COPD, I had to start taking life at a slower pace. I’ve looked after my step grandchildren since birth. My illness meant I couldn’t chase after them like I used to. I was sad I couldn’t play with them in the same way. It was a frightening time. I couldn’t get my breath at all.

Hilary, United Kingdom

It got to the point where I was breathless every day. This had a huge impact on my life. The worst thing was the tiredness. Being breathless is exhausting.The medication just wasn’t doing the job. When I woke up from the anesthetic in the recovery room, and felt absolutely great — I could breathe again!

Cornelius, Ireland

I was initially meant to undergo lung volume reduction surgery, but the doctors decided against this and proposed to insert endobronchial valves into my lungs. My greatest wish since the insertion of the valves was to climb the steps of Cologne cathedral. I trained for this regularly until I succeeded. Thus I want to warmly recommend my life’s philosophy to other sufferers: “Have zest for life – despite and defy shortness of breath!

Jupp, Germany

Emphysema creeps in without you realizing. It is really cruel that it is only discovered so late because you raise the alarm too late. Sitting up in my bed at the hospital, I felt tears in my eyes. I can do things again.

Els, Netherlands.

Do you need more information? Learn more in the patient information brochure.

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1. Criner, G et al. Am J Resp Crit Care Med. 2018 Nov 1;198(9):1151‒1164.

Severe Emphysema Treatment Options

With the right treatment, you may breathe more easily, be more active, and enjoy a better quality of life¹.