Mohit Chawla, MD

One minimally invasive technique that we frequently use is bronchoscopy, which allows us to visualize the inside of the airways using a camera and access most regions of the lung, without any surgical incisions. I perform both flexible and rigid bronchoscopy to ensure adequate care of the disease process. I specialize in endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS), electromagnetic navigational bronchoscopy (superDimension), laser bronchoscopy, autofluorescence bronchoscopy, narrow-band imaging, airway stenting, and whole-lung lavage for pulmonary alveolar proteinosis.

I also treat benign and cancerous diseases of the airway, including malignant airway obstruction; tracheal tumors; tracheal stenosis and bronchostenosis (narrowing of the windpipe); and tracheobronchomalacia (excessive collapse of the windpipe with breathing or coughing). Complications of lung surgery, such as surgical stump breakdown or bronchopleural fistula, can be managed via bronchoscopy.

Our interventional pulmonology team, in conjunction with thoracic surgery, heads the Center’s complex airways program. Working together, we treat diseases with bronchoscopy, laser, stenting, or with highly specialized surgical techniques such as tracheal resection and reconstruction, or tracheobronchoplasty. These surgical procedures are performed at only a few highly specialized centers in the world.

Lung volume reduction surgery is proven to help patients with certain types of emphysema. Currently under international study are techniques to achieve the same results using bronchoscopy instead of lung surgery. We hope to include this modality in the near future for our patients with emphysema to provide improved quality of life and the ability to tolerate lung cancer surgeries when patients have limited lung function.

Pleural space diseases are a common problem when cancer has spread to the chest. I specialize in simple and complex diseases of the pleural space. I perform thoracentesis (drainage of fluid surrounding the lung) using ultrasound; place indwelling pleural catheters (PleurX; which allows the patient to go home and manage fluid drainage); chest tubes with pleurodesis (sealing of the pleural space to prevent further fluid accumulation); and medical thoracoscopy (a procedure which allows us to look in the pleural space to drain fluid and remove scar tissue).