Connecticut COPD patients now have access to a new life-changing treatment in Hartford. The first patient at Saint Francis Hospital to get the procedure since it newly became available says it has transformed his life.
“The results have been nothing short of miraculous,” Paul Petruccione, of Prospect, said.
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, or COPD, is a progressive respiratory condition that impacts 15 million Americans. The long-term lung disease makes it hard to breathe and can include chronic bronchitis. The main cause of COPD is smoking, but non-smokers exposed to irritants that damage their lungs are at risk too.
Of the 15 million who are suffering, 3.5 million have emphysema, according to the American Lung Association. There is no cure for that severe form of COPD that is life-threatening. Patients live with shortness of breath that keeps them from doing activities as simple as walking or eating.
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Yet COPD is treatable, and now a better quality of life is within reach for many COPD patients at Saint Francis Hospital thanks to a procedure that is newly available.
Petruccione always loved being on the move, but a 2009 diagnosis changed that.
“I was an athlete growing up. I was very active as an adult,” Petruccione said. “When the COPD set in, all of that activity went away.”
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A few years ago, his COPD symptoms reached the point where even daily activities felt impossible.
“I was having difficulty breathing,” Petruccione said. “I would have to stop after walking five feet, stop, take a breath. I was using a walker.”
COPD not only forced Petruccione to give up his hobbies but also his life passion: working as a teacher.
“I did not want to retire,” Petruccione said. “I would still be working today if it were not for the COPD.”
His pulmonologist at Saint Mary’s Hospital in Waterbury prescribed Petruccione inhalers, then oxygen full time, before they considered the next step: placing valves in his lung.
“I was excited. I wanted this badly,” Petruccione said.
That is when he was referred to Saint Francis Hospital, and Dr. Anil Magge, director of interventional pulmonology.
The only interventional pulmonologist in the Trinity Health System, when Dr. Magge started in August of last year, he brought with him the ability to perform a new procedure. It is called Bronchoscopic Lung Volume Reduction, or BLVR, and it places Zephyr Valves on the lung.
“This is a one-way valve that we put in the airways,” Dr. Magge said. “You can put these valves into the destroyed part of the lung and it will help redirect oxygen to the better parts of the lung.”
The BLVR procedure treats advanced emphysema. It is non-surgical and does not require cutting or incisions. During the hour-long procedure, an interventional pulmonologist puts an average of four tiny valves in the lung’s airways. That re-directs the oxygen and helps the patient breathe more easily.
“We're growing the program quickly here,” Dr. Magge said.
He says that six patients at Saint Francis Hospital have gotten the Zephyr Valve procedure and right now another 10 are testing to see if they are eligible.
Petruccione is Saint Francis Hospital’s first-ever BLVR patient. At the end of March, Dr. Magge placed three Zephyr Valves in his left lung.
“The first thing that I did when I got home was I got up at 4:30 in the morning, starting doing things that I had not done in years,” Petruccione said. “Clean my refrigerator, wash my floor, and then I went outside to do yard work!”
Petruccione hopes to continue his treatment this fall, getting more valves placed in his right lung. For now, he is breathing a little bit easier.
“I don't think I can articulate that,” Petruccione said. “I've been swimming all summer. That's great. I want to get out and play golf eventually. It's just a tremendous feeling.”
