Endobronchial Ultrasound Ankara

What is Endobronchial Ultrasound?

Endobronchial Ultrasound (EBUS) is an imaging and diagnostic method that combines ultrasound technology with a bronchoscope. With EBUS, enlarged lymph nodes around the airways can be easily visualized and sampled.

Using the EBUS (Endobronchial Ultrasound) method, it is possible to easily and visually access many diseases, such as enlarged lymph nodes or tumors adjacent to the bronchus and outside the bronchus, which cannot be diagnosed with standard bronchoscopy. Appropriate samples can be obtained from these areas for diagnosis.

What is EBUS?

Definition: EBUS stands for Endobronchial Ultrasound.

Why is an EBUS biopsy performed?

In diseases that develop outside the bronchi, rather than within the airways, additional diagnostic procedures are often needed, which may lead to surgery.

Sampling methods taken from outside the bronchus without visualization using a bronchoscope may not be sufficiently effective. Therefore, EBUS is used to diagnose many diseases, such as cancer, lymphoma, sarcoidosis, and tuberculosis, that cause lymph node enlargement near the airways. In cancer patients, this method is also highly successful in determining the stage of the disease.

Which diseases are diagnosed using EBUS bronchoscopy?

The EBUS bronchoscopy method is used to diagnose the following diseases:

• Cancer causing lymph node enlargement near the airways
• Lymphoma
• Sarcoidosis
• Tuberculosis
• In addition to diagnosing cancer in patients, this method is highly successful in determining the stage of the lung cancer. By using this method, many patients can avoid unnecessary surgeries, and their diseases can be diagnosed and staged with a painless, incision-free procedure without the need for hospitalization.

This method is particularly effective in avoiding the need for other surgical methods by allowing biopsies to be taken from lymph nodes in the chest cavity in cases such as sarcoidosis and tuberculosis. Accurate staging can be performed in cancer patients, and the mediastinoscopic method is only needed in 5-10% of patients.

How is Endobronchial Ultrasound Performed?

The EBUS procedure is preferably performed under general anesthesia or sedation. In the EBUS method, which allows visual examination within the bronchi using a bronchoscope, an ultrasound probe attached to the end of the bronchoscope emits sound waves, clearly showing the lymph nodes, tissues, and blood vessels behind the bronchial wall as an ultrasound image.

Endobronchial Ultrasound, with its special needle, allows access to enlarged lymph nodes or lesions adjacent to the airways in areas within the chest cavity that cannot be reached with the standard bronchoscopy method.

Once the lymph node or tumor mass to be biopsied is identified using ultrasound, a fine needle specially designed for the bronchoscope is inserted through the bronchoscope, and a sample is taken from the lymph node or mass under ultrasound guidance. Another advantage of this method is that the risk of vascular injury is eliminated by visualizing the blood vessels with ultrasound.

Endobronchial Ultrasound Cost in Ankara

EBUS costs vary depending on the specific procedure to be performed. Therefore, detailed information about the cost of endobronchial ultrasound should be obtained during the consultation.

Hospitals Performing EBUS

In Ankara, the Başkent Hospital will soon begin offering the EBUS procedure. Other hospitals in Ankara that perform EBUS include Ankara Atatürk Sanatorium Training and Research Hospital, Güven Hospital, and Gülhane Hospital.

How long does the EBUS procedure take?

The EBUS procedure takes approximately 15-20 minutes longer than a standard bronchoscopy procedure (about 30-40 minutes in total).

The duration may increase or decrease depending on the number of samples taken or the sedation method used.

Is Endobronchial Ultrasound risky?

The EBUS procedure is a very safe procedure with a low risk of life-threatening complications. The most common issue during the procedure is bleeding in the nose or airways due to the procedure or the underlying disease.

What should be done after the EBUS procedure?

After the procedure, a fever may occur, but it is usually easily controlled with antipyretics.

Additionally, temporary throat pain and hoarseness may occur due to the procedure.

More rarely, allergic reactions to the medications used for local anesthesia, respiratory depression due to the sedative used, a drop in oxygen levels, bronchospasm, epileptic seizures, and heart rhythm disturbances may develop.

These complications can occur in the first hours after the procedure, so after the procedure is completed, the patient's general condition, respiratory and heart parameters should be monitored in the observation room.

In cases where anesthesia or sedation was used, longer monitoring and close observation are required in the first few hours after the procedure until the effects of the medications have completely worn off.

Since the procedure involves anesthetic stages, the patient should be accompanied by a caregiver. Eating and drinking activities should be avoided for 2 hours after the procedure.

When will the results of the biopsy taken with Endobronchial Ultrasound (EBUS) be available?

The pathological examination of the tissue samples taken with EBUS usually takes about 1 week to 10 days. However, if special histopathological staining of the biopsy sample is required (as determined by the pathologist),this period may be extended by a few days.

If microbiological examination of the samples is to be performed, the results usually take between 3 days and 2 weeks, depending on the type of examination requested.