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Clinical Services
The eight physicians in the Division of Pulmonary Medicine at Montefiore Medical Center are expertly trained in pulmonary and critical care, as well as sleep medicine. Our compassionate, highly trained staff members are committed to minimizing the negative impact of pulmonary disease and its related conditions through accurate diagnosis and specialized treatment.
We offer state-of-the-art care and follow up treatment for those patients referred to us by other internal medicine specialists at Montefiore for pre or post-operative evaluation, or from the hospital's pulmonary ward. We also see patients who have been referred by their primary care physicians, or who are seeking treatment because of persistent symptoms, such as chronic cough. Common conditions we treat include:
We pride ourselves in our collaborative relationship with other divisions, particularly the oncology division, with whom we have weekly multi-disciplinary conferences to discuss the care of our patients with cancer. We often refer patients for even more specialized diagnosis and treatment at our multiple sleep labs and Chronic Cough Center.
Caring support during difficult lifestyle changes
We are committed to supporting our patients who are faced with the difficult task of attempting to quit smoking. We understand how hard this habit is to break, particularly for elderly patients who have smoked for many years, and we take special care to address all aspects of this addiction.
Beginning with an in depth initial visit, during which we counsel our patients and provide them with literature and referrals to related smoking cessation support groups, we recommend a three-pronged approach that address the following issues:
Because the most difficult aspect of cigarette addiction is habit, we discuss the importance of replacing cigarettes with new rituals. This could mean trading the cigarette smoked after a meal for a walk or crossword puzzle. We can easily help patients handle their nicotine addiction through various transdermal medicines and nicotine products, and we help them avoid possible side effects from these treatments. We also consider whether their psychological addiction may be a manifestation of a larger problem, such as depression, and offer treatment, when needed.
When patients come to us complaining of shortness of breath, we use pulmonary function testing and CAT scans to identify what is causing their problem. Sometimes this leads to a diagnosis of chronic constructive pulmonary disease, which occurs in patients who have emphysema, chronic bronchitis and chronic obstructive asthma.
When we diagnose emphysema (empty spaces where the lung has been destroyed and replaced with air) we help to improve our patients' health and quality of life in a variety of ways, including:
Because of the risks associated with surgery, and the limited number of patients who would benefit from it, we carefully weigh whether this is an appropriate option.
We apply our expertise to each individual case with care and aim to determine the best possible treatment outcome for each patient with the least possible risk.
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