The department of pulmonology consists of specialists who work in a coordinated, comprehensive and effective manner to provide every patient proper diagnosis and treatment. Our team aim is to create a holistic medical care where an individualized treatment plan is created to consider all aspects of the condition and the patient’s unique needs. Our specialists are constantly adapting and advancing with the new and innovative practices of pulmonary medicine and critical care. The high-end technologies and state of the art equipment available at MGM Healthcare helps our team to deliver the best possible solutions to the medical condition thereby providing the best outcomes.
We have some of the best pulmonologists in Chennai on-board who diagnose and treat disease and conditions for the respiratory system which includes the lungs and other organs that help you breathe.
If you are suffering from illnesses like flu or pneumonia which affects your lung for a short period of time, our specialists at the general medicine department will treat you. But if you experience chronic cough, shortness of breath, chest congestion, or any other symptoms that do not get better with time, our pulmonologist will help you diagnose the condition and treat it accordingly.
The Respiratory System
The respiratory system comprises the airway, lungs and respiratory muscles.
The airway includes the following
- nose
- mouth
- throat or pharynx
- voice box or larynx
- windpipe or trachea
- bronchi which are the passageways in the lungs
- bronchioles which are even smaller passageways in the lungs
- alveoli which is the air sacs in the lungs
- Lungs
Several muscles are involved during respiration. The primary muscle used is diaphragm. The other muscles include the following:
- Intercostal muscles. These muscles are involved in the mechanical aspects of breathing and help the chest to expand and shrink. They run between the ribs and help form and move the chest wall. The intercostal muscles aid in the mechanical aspects of breathing by helping expand and shrink the size of the chest.
- Accessory muscles. They only assist other muscles during the breathing process and do not play a major role. However, if these muscles are strained and are used while at rest it is indicative of respiratory distress.
- Expiratory muscles. These are used during forced exhalation and include muscles present in the abdominal wall and rib cage.
The Department of Pulmonology is divided into the following sub-specialities:
- Interstitial lung disease, which is a group of conditions that affect the space and tissue within the lungs
- Interventional pulmonology, is a part of pulmonology which involves using a multidisciplinary approach to treating airway disorders, lung cancer, and pleural diseases (that affect the membrane that surrounds the lungs called pleura)
- Lung transplantation is a surgical procedure which replaces the diseased lung with a healthy lung.
- Neuromuscular disorders, it comprises a set of conditions that result in respiratory muscle failure.
- Obstructive lung disease, which involves narrowing or obstruction of the airways.
- Sleep-disordered breathing is a general term for a broad spectrum of sleep-related breathing disorders or conditions with an abnormal breathing pattern during sleep. This includes obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), central sleep apnoea, as well as sleep-related hypoventilation and hypoxemia.
Conditions we treat
The conditions treated include but are not limited to
- Advanced sleep phase syndrome
- Alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency
- Amyloidosis
- ARDS
- Asthma
- Asthmatic bronchitis
- Bronchiectasis
- Bronchiolar disease
- Bruxism (teeth grinding)
- Cancer
- Carcinoid tumours
- Central sleep apnoea
- Chest pain
- Childhood asthma
- Chronic bronchitis
- Chronic cough
- Chronic granulomatous disease
- Chronic pulmonary thromboembolism
- Complex sleep apnoea
- COPD
- Cryptogenic organizing pneumonia
- Cystic fibrosis
- Delayed sleep phase
- Emphysema
- Fungal lung infection
- Granulomatosis with polyangiitis
- Hepatopulmonary syndrome
- Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia
- Hypersensitivity pneumonitis
- Insomnia
- Interstitial lung disease
- Lung cancer
- Lung nodule
- Lymphangioleiomyomatosis
- Mediastinal lymph node enlargement
- Mesothelioma
- Mycobacterial infection
- Narcolepsy
- Nicotine dependence
- Niemann-Pick
- Nightmare disorder
- Nocturnal epilepsy
- Non-24
- Nontuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease
- Obstructive sleep apnoea
- Parasomnia
- Paediatric obstructive sleep apnoea
- Pickwickian syndrome
- Pleural disease
- Pleural effusion
- Pneumonia
- Pneumothorax
- Porto pulmonary hypertension
- Post-COVID lung disease
- Posterior cortical atrophy
- Pulmonary arteriovenous malformation
- Pulmonary embolism
- Pulmonary fibrosis
- Pulmonary hypertension
- Pulmonary Langerhans cell histiocytosis
- Pulmonary valve disease
- REM sleep behaviour disorder
- Respiratory failure
- Restless legs syndrome
- Sarcoidosis
- Sleep disorders
- Sleep terrors (night terrors)
- Sleep-related breathing disorders
- Sleepwalking
- Snoring
- Transplant disorder
- Tuberculosis