Bronchial thermoplasty can help chronic asthma

[Kadie]

Bronchial thermoplasty can help chronic asthma

Erin Allday, Chronicle Staff Writer

Saturday, October 23, 2010


Two months ago, Maggie Bausola couldn't make her bed or do a load of laundry without risking an asthma attack. Just getting dressed in the morning left her breathless and weak.

She was on more than a dozen medications, including a strong daily steroid, and still her asthma raged out of control. So when a pulmonologist suggested she try a recently approved new treatment, she jumped at the chance - even if just thinking about the treatment made her nervous. Bronchial thermoplasty, developed by a Sunnyvale firm and approved by the Food and Drug Administration in April, involves burning away the thick muscles that line the airways in people with severe asthma. The procedure seems to carry few risks, and at least for Bausola, so far it's been life-changing.

"I was convinced an asthma attack was going to kill me," said Bausola, 47, a Scotts Valley nurse who has lost multiple jobs because of her asthma when she missed too much work. "This felt like a last-ditch effort. But I couldn't continue to live the way I was."

Her first treatment was Sept. 10 at El Camino Hospital in Mountain View, and her third and last treatment was Friday. The results have far exceeded her expectations, she said. She can do housework now, and get ready to leave the house in 30 minutes, instead of taking all morning. She's still taking all the same medications, but she hopes to be weaned off of some of them over the next few months.


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/10/23/MNSE1G0Q02.DTL#ixzz13Og1c8Bz