The Hospitals of Providence performs breakthrough lung procedure to treat COPD/Emphysema in El Paso

The Hospitals of Providence Memorial Campus recently performed El Paso’s first successful breakthrough lung procedure using the Zephyr Valve Procedure, to treat patients suffering from severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and emphysema.

The Zephyr Valve treatment is a minimally invasive procedure, that allows a doctor to place one or more small valves in your airways, which releases trapped pockets of air to help patients breathe easier and do more without many of the risks associated with major surgery. Emphysema is a form of COPD in which the air sacs in the lungs are weakened or ruptured causing them to not work properly and allowing air to become trapped in the damaged areas.

“We are thrilled to bring this technology and procedure to El Paso to give our patients better treatment options and improve their quality of life,” said Adolfo Anchondo, M.D., a Pulmonary and Critical Care Specialist who performed the first procedure. “For many of our patients suffering with severe emphysema or COPD, we see that they become very limited in the activities they can do because of the severity this disease has on their body – this procedure finally gives us a better option to treat them and helps restore their breathing.”

More than 15 million Americans suffer from COPD, and 3.5 million of those patients have emphysema. Despite using COPD medications, over one million emphysema patients continue to suffer symptoms of hyperinflation, in which air becomes trapped in the lungs and prevents new air from coming in, causing severe shortness of breath. Breathing becomes inefficient, causing patients to have difficulties completing normal activities.

“Congratulations to Dr. Anchondo and the entire team on this significant milestone – this has been a multi-year journey to bring this needed procedure to El Paso,” said Rob J. Anderson, Chief Executive Officer for The Hospitals of Providence Memorial Campus. “We continue to be committed to advancing and expanding treatment options for our community so that patients can receive the high-quality care they deserve close to home.”