An Innovative Solution for Prolonged Air Leaks: The Customized Endobronchial Silicone Blocker.

Background: Prolonged air leak (PAL) is a life-threatening condition that can present either as bronchopleural fistula, or alveolar-pleural fistula (APF). Although numerous bronchoscopic treatments are described, they are either expensive, not widely available in the developing world or have limited success. We describe our experience with a novel customized endobronchial silicone blocker (CESB) for PAL treatment.

Conventional Transbronchial Needle Aspiration: The Original Guard Who Still Has a Role in Mediastinal Lymph Node Sampling.

Introduction: Conventional transbronchial needle aspiration (C-TBNA) is the originally described method for sampling mediastinal lymph nodes (MLN). After the advent of endobronchial ultrasound, the practice and reports of C-TBNA have dwindled. We report a large series of C-TBNA from the Indian subcontinent, highlighting aspects such as pathological spectrum, yield and complications, and reiterating its relevance in MLN sampling.