Respiratory medicine

Our lung care services at Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals are world-renowned. In fact, Royal Brompton Hospital has been ranked 4^th in the world for lung care by US Newsweek, the American weekly news magazine.

Advanced lung diagnostic services

Our new Royal Brompton Diagnostic Centre boasts the latest technologies to diagnose lung conditions, including interventional bronchoscopy. We also have state-of-the-art diagnostic facilities at Harefield Hospital and Wimpole Street Consulting Rooms and Diagnostic Centre.

From lung cancer to interstitial lung disease (ILD), we can help diagnose conditions at the earliest stages for the best treatment outcomes.

Male healthcare professional wearing PPC administering lung function test on female patient.

Lung cancer

We are one of the leading centres in lung cancer diagnosis and treatment, and collaborate with cancer specialists at Royal Marsden Hospital.

Our world-renowned lung imaging and histopathology specialists can diagnose the type, location, and stage of cancer with the greatest accuracy to guide procedures that minimise harm to healthy lung tissues.

Our multidisciplinary team of lung cancer experts, including thoracic surgeons, is involved in the assessment of each patient to determine the best procedures to diagnose and treat them.

CT-guided lung cancer biopsy service

We use multiple techniques to help diagnose lung cancer. One is a minimally invasive ‘pinhole’ technique (through the skin of the chest) to acquire biopsies, guided by CT imaging technology for the greatest accuracy in locating samples.

Audits of our service demonstrate 95.3% diagnostic accuracy with 78% same-day discharge rates.

Ion robotic-assisted lung cancer biopsy

Our consultants have helped develop a new minimally invasive lung cancer biopsy technique.

Using the Ion endoluminal system and its innovative 3D roadmap functionality, our consultants were the first in the country to perform robotic-assisted lung cancer biopsies. This method enables high precision for collection of tissue samples from almost any lung nodule.

We can sample bilateral or multiple lesions, take larger samples with cryobiopsy, and access nodules in places which are more difficult to reach.

Ion’s capabilities mean that lung nodules can be identified at a size of 6mm or smaller, allowing for prompt delivery of treatment and potentially increased survival rates.

Learn more

Tumour ablation service

Our lung tumour ablation (lung cancer treatment that does not involve surgery) service was the winner of the LaingBuisson ‘Healthcare Outcomes’ award in 2022 for our excellent patient outcomes.

We offer a range of lung tumour ablation techniques to precisely target lung cancers in the airways and/or the lung tissues. These include microwave (thermal) and cryotherapy (freezing) treatments to kill cancer cells locally, while avoiding damage to healthy tissue.

Treatment is delivered via a ‘pinhole’ technique through the skin of the chest under general anaesthetic. We have also developed a new technique called ‘awake ablation’ that enables patients unsuitable for general anaesthetic to be treated with local anaesthetic.

We are pleased with our local tumour control rate of 93.1%, with 99.1% of patients experiencing minor or no complications. (The local tumour rate means that cancer has not returned at the site of treatment.)

Interstitial lung disease (ILD)

Our interstitial lung disease (ILD) clinic is the largest in the UK and our specialists have expertise across the full breadth of these conditions from the rarest forms to those that are more common.

These include idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, sarcoidosis and drug-induced lung disease.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

Our lung specialists are continuously pioneering new treatments for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and offer the full range of treatments available, including for the most severe forms of the condition.

Targeted lung denervation

Our specialists have helped develop a novel 90-minute treatment for patients with COPD, called targeted lung denervation. It targets nerves in the airways that are involved in making them constrict (narrower), which become overactive in the condition making it difficult to breathe. The treatment improves breathing and reduces flare-ups associated with the disease.

RejuvenAir metered cryospray procedure

Our consultants have also helped develop a 30-minute procedure called RejuvenAir to treat COPD with chronic bronchitis. The treatment delivers liquid nitrogen to the affected airways which destroys diseased cells and reduces inflammation, enabling new healthy cells to grow in their place to help patients breathe easier.

Asthma, allergies and infections

We have an international reputation for excellence and ground-breaking research in the development of asthma and allergy treatments. We can provide advanced investigations to diagnose asthma when it has been difficult to define, as well as providing treatment for the most severe asthma cases.

Fungal lung diseases can be serious and fungal sensitivity can exacerbate asthma making it severe. Our specialists can treat a range of fungal lung diseases, including complex aspergilloma secondary to COPD and sarcoidosis, as well as invasive aspergillosis. With accurate diagnosis of fungal sensitivity, they can also optimise treatment for severe asthma related to this

Pollen drifting off of a plant in the sun

Cystic fibrosis

The first adult cystic fibrosis clinic in Europe was established at Royal Brompton Hospital in 1964. It is has grown to be the largest treatment centre for the condition in Europe.

Working with Imperial College London and other medical centres over the last decade, our team have pioneered new treatments, including important breakthroughs in gene therapy.

Conditions

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Treatments

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Investigations

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Locations

Our experts in respiratory medicine provide care at these locations:

Discover our experts in respiratory medicine

Our lung care experts are world-leaders who offer the latest and most innovative diagnostics and treatments, supported by an experienced multi-disciplinary team

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