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. 2021 Mar 10;21(1):81.
doi: 10.1186/s12890-021-01407-8.

Feasibility and long-term safety of Ho:YAG laser lithotripsy in broncholithiasis patients

Yuan Cheng  1 , Guangfa Wang  2 , Wei Zhang  1 , Hong Zhang  1 , Xi Wang  1
Affiliations

Feasibility and long-term safety of Ho:YAG laser lithotripsy in broncholithiasis patients

Yuan Cheng et al. BMC Pulm Med. .

Abstract

Background: Treatment of broncholithiasis is complex, especially in the case of a large or transbronchial broncholith. Holmium-yttrium aluminum garnet (Ho:YAG) laser lithotripsy may be a useful treatment in broncholithiasis; however, as it is not yet common practice, the optimal parameters are unknown.

Methods: We performed a single-center retrospective analysis of the clinical data of 13 broncholithiasis patients who underwent Ho:YAG laser lithotripsy from May 2012 to October 2018.

Results: For the 13 patients (2 males and 11 females), Ho:YAG laser lithotripsy was performed 17 times, in total. All procedures were performed under general anesthesia with rigid bronchoscopy. We initially set the Ho:YAG laser to a pulse frequency of 5 Hz and a pulse energy of 0.8 J, gradually increasing these as required. The pulse frequency range we employed was 5-15 Hz, and the pulse energy range was 0.8-1.6 J. All broncholiths were successfully extracted after lithotripsy, and all symptoms improved. Hemoptysis, bronchial esophageal fistula, and pneumonia were the most common complications; however, there were no long-term complications.

Conclusions: Ho:YAG laser lithotripsy is an effective and safe treatment for broncholithiasis, over a long-term follow up.

Keywords: Broncholithiasis; Ho:yag laser; Lithotripsy.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
A large broncholith in the right intermediate bronchus (patient 11, before procedure)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Chest CT scans with contrast show large transbronchial broncholith in the right intermediate bronchus (red arrow) (patient 11, before procedure)
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
The right intermediate bronchus reopen, with no residual broncholith (patient 11, after five times procedures)
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Chest CT scans shows no residual broncholith in the previous location (red arrow) (patient 11, after five times procedures)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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