In the Dail Mail yesterday page 38 there was a small article about a small (20 people) trial in the USA using a liquid foam which is delivered directly into the airways through a catheter through the nose and then forms a seal in the affected areas of the lungs
This is in the very early stages and is run by the Aeris Theraputics company, i know we don't normally use links from outside the UK but i have been unable to find anything specific from a UK website.
As with all new drugs/treatments the whole process from trials to a prescription drug can take approximately 10 years.
My point is that this was discussed by people at surgeon and consultant level at this seminar, and compared to other treatments available, the conclusion by these people is that its usefulness is limited. One area where it may prove to be useful is where patients have air leakage between lobes in the same lung, which is a serious problem with the other treatments. It may offer a solution in these cases, either on its own, or possibly with other treatments such as valves. It's early days for this treatment, so there is not much in the way of positive results yet. Another consideration is that it is not a reversible procedure.
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