Pulmonology
Our Approach
When you need care for a lung or breathing condition, the specialists at Providence St. Joseph Hospital Eureka are here to help.
Our pulmonologist from the Providence Medical Group uses advanced diagnostic tools and therapies to provide compassionate, effective care and personalized treatment.
Conditions We Treat
We diagnosis and treat a wide range of conditions, including:
- Asthma
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- Cystic fibrosis
- Chronic bronchitis
- Emphysema
- Interstitial lung disease
- Lung cancer
- Neuromuscular disease
- Occupational lung disease
- Pneumonia
- Pulmonary fibrosis
- Pulmonary hypertension
- Respiratory failure
- Shortness of breath
We use a variety of tools and techniques to provide the care that’s right for you.
Many of our procedures use bronchoscopy for diagnosis and treatment. Our doctors insert a thin, flexible tube through the nose or mouth and down the throat. The tube has an attached camera, called a bronchoscope, that allows the care team to closely examine the lungs and air passages.
We also provide other interventional pulmonary treatments, including:
- Airway stenting to ensure proper air flow and treat obstructions caused by tumors, inflammation or other conditions
- Brachytherapy to treat cancer by delivering a high dose of radiation to cancerous cells while minimizing exposure to healthy tissue
- Fluoroscopic bronchoscopy, which combines bronchoscopy with real-time X-ray imaging for more precision and accuracy
- Photodynamic therapy, which uses specific wavelengths of light to target and destroy cancer cells while preserving healthy tissue
During an endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) procedure:
- You are placed under local anesthesia.
- Your doctor guides the bronchoscope into your mouth and down your throat.
- The endobronchial ultrasound device takes real-time pictures of your lungs.
- Images are displayed on a monitor in the operating room.
- Your doctor can pass a very thin needle down the bronchoscope to take samples of lung tissue or lymph nodes for testing.
We’re thankful for the generous donations from our community to the St. Joseph Hospital Foundation, which purchased the EBUS device.
Ion robotic bronchoscopy is a more accurate, state-of-the-art alternative to traditional biopsy methods for diagnosing and treating lung cancer. It’s a minimally invasive procedure that uses a robotic system to navigate and biopsy lung nodules.
The robotic system uses a 3D map of the patient's lungs, generated from a CT scan, to guide an ultra-thin catheter to the target nodule.
Ion robotic bronchoscopy provides the following benefits:
- Gives doctors the ability to biopsy small, difficult-to-reach nodules safely
- Leads to earlier diagnosis
- Allows for more precise, targeted lung cancer treatment
- Reduces the risk of complications such as pneumothorax, known commonly as collapsed lung