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Lung & Respiratory Conditions
Overview
You can breathe easier with respiratory and pulmonary care at Ballad Health.
Our board-certified pulmonologists – also known as lung doctors – treat even the most complex of respiratory conditions.
When you or a loved one visits a Ballad Health facility, you can trust that you're receiving some of the best lung care in the Appalachian Highlands.
Pulmonary services and treatments
Ballad Health facilities offer comprehensive treatments and tests for a wide variety of respiratory conditions.
- Diagnostic tests, including pulmonary function tests and bronchoscopy
- Lung cancer screening for current and former smokers
- Lung nodule clinics that find and treat lumps early to beat cancer
- Black lung program – the region's only federally-certified clinic for treating diseases caused by breathing coal dust
- Pulmonary rehabilitation to reduce the symptoms of lung disease
Areas of Care
Conditions We Treat
- Asthma
- Black lung
- Chronic bronchitis
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- Cystic fibrosis
- Emphysema
- Intersititial lung disease
- Lung cancer
- Lung infections
- Lung transplant
- Pneumonia
- Pulmonary fibrosis
- Restrictive lung disease
What to expect
VATS lung and thoracic surgery
If you need lung or thoracic (chest) surgery, your doctor may use less-invasive, video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS).
For this type of procedure, the surgeon makes tiny incisions (cuts in the skin) and inserts miniature medical tools and a very small video camera that shows the inside of your body. Because there's not a large incision, you'll recover faster.
Your surgeon might use VATS to perform a lobectomy (removal of part of a lung) or lung biopsy (test for cancer).
Learn more about what you can expect from a surgical procedure and post-surgery recovery.
Advanced surgical technology for minimally invasive pulmonary procedures
For minimally invasive procedures like biopsies or wedge resections, your doctor may recommend robotic-assisted surgery. Robotic-assisted surgery utilizes robotic tools that provide more accuracy, allowing surgeons to make even smaller incisions than a traditional procedure.
Robotic-assisted surgery offers minimal scarring, a smaller chance for complications or infection, a faster recovery time and far less surgical pain.
Learn more about robotic-assisted surgery.
Bronchial thermoplasty for asthma
If an inhaler isn't working for you, ask your doctor about bronchial thermoplasty.
This treatment uses mild heat to shrink the amount of tissue in your airways and make breathing easier.
Before the procedure, you will receive a sedative – a medicine to relax you. Your doctor will slide a thin tube through your mouth or nose and into your airways and apply mild heat. Sessions take place three times every three weeks.
After finishing your treatment, you may need to take less asthma medication. You may also have fewer asthma attacks for several years.
High-quality respiratory care
Our high rankings and national recognition show you can trust us to provide quality services that keep you safe and have confidence in your treatment.
- Healthgrades gave Indian Path Community Hospital an America's 100 Best Hospitals for Pulmonary Care Award three years in a row (2015-2017). Sycamore Shoals Hospital earned a Healthgrades' Pulmonary Care Excellence Award in 2017 and 2016.
- CareChex® rated Johnson City Medical Center, Franklin Woods Community Hospital and Hawkins County Medical Hospital in the top 10 percent of hospitals in Tennessee in 2017 for medical excellence in pulmonary care. CareChex also rated Indian Path Community Hospital and Holston Valley Medical Center in the top 10 percent of hospitals in Tennessee in 2017 for medical excellence in pneumonia care.
