Interventional Pulmonology Fellowship Program

The UF Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine is proud to offer a one-year fellowship opportunity in Interventional Pulmonology (IP). This fellowship is intended to provide an additional year of training in diagnostic and therapeutic procedures of airway and pleural disorders for those who have completed a Pulmonary/Critical Care fellowship.

The overall aim of the interventional pulmonary fellowship is to develop a clinical investigator with expertise in the diagnosis/staging of lung cancer and the management of complex airway and pleural disorders. The role of the fellow is to train as a subspecialist in the field of interventional pulmonology and to satisfy the recommendations of the American Association of Bronchology & Interventional Pulmonology.

Interventional Pulmonary Procedures

The IP fellows will work under the general supervision of pulmonary faculty and will be provided expose to the following procedures:

  • Management of malignant airway obstruction
    • Argon Plasma coagulation
    • Stent insertion/ Removal
    • Photodynamic therapy
    • Intratumoral chemotherapy
    • Corecath
  • Management of benign airway obstruction
    • Balloon dilation
    • Rigid bronchoscopy
    • Y stent for tracheobronchomalacia
    • Cautery knife
    • Cryotherapy
  • Management of pleural effusions
    • Thoracic ultrasound
    • Rigid Thoracoscopy/ Pleural biopsy
    • Thoracentesis chest tube/ Pleural manometry
    • Pleurodesis
    • Indwelling pleural catheters
  • Management of persistent airleaks
    • Endobronchial gluing
    • Endobronchial valves
  • Bronchial thermoplasty for severe asthma
  • Bronchoscopic lung volume reduction for emphysema
  • Cryobiopsy for ILD
  • Percutaneous Tracheostomy
  • Advanced Diagnostics
    • Endobronchial ultrasound
    • Radial probe ultrasound
    • Robotic bronchoscopy
    • Cone beam CT scan guidance

The IP fellow will also be provided with the opportunity to attend in the MICU and night call.

Facilities

Shands at UF is a 1,000 bed teaching hospital and the major tertiary referral center for northern Florida. The hospital is on the University of Florida campus. The Lung Diagnostic Center is a HOD department consisting of two Bronchoscopy procedural rooms offering services Monday-Friday from 8:30-5:30. The Lab is located on the 6th floor of the North Tower of UF Health Shands Hospital. Each procedure room is staffed with a Registered Nurse (RN) and a Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT). The RN is responsible for assessment and monitoring the patient and the RRT is responsible for assisting the physician with the procedure. Anesthesia coverage is available in the Operating Room, and one day per week in the Bronchoscopy suite.

Faculty

The faculty for the fellowship includes members of the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine in the Department of Medicine. The Interventional Pulmonology fellowship is led by Dr. Hiren Mehta and Dr. Karthik Vijayan.