I have been experiencing some health problems in last few weeks. I am 47 years old, I smoke more than 20 cigarettes a day, and I have so called smoking bronchitis. But lately, my condition became a lot worse. I began coughing blood, so I went immediately to a doctor who determined that I got bronchomalacia; my left lung has almost collapsed. He said that I have to use stents, is that necessary?
Bronchomalacia is a condition that affects upper respiratory paths and damages them in such a manner that they loose their functionality completely. Stent implantation is a regular and common method for treating bronchomalacia. It is true that it is done mostly in children but it can be applied to adults, if necessary. And it appears so in your case. Stent are best described as little pipes that are put in damaged area to replace what needs to be replaced. If you do not think this is necessary, ask for a second opinion, you re entitled to that, but I am afraid that the diagnose would be the same.