Use of the 1.1 mm cryoprobe through the radial EBUS GS (without the need for a bronchial blocker) to obtain samples safely in diagnosing peripheral pulmonary lesions (PPL)

Abstract

AbstractCryobiopsy for peripheral pulmonary lesions suspected of lung cancer is gaining popularity due to the larger non‐crushed samples capable of an array of molecular testing. However, the method of performing this procedure so far had been resource‐intensive and time‐consuming limiting the procedure to tertiary centres. Having to remove the cryobiopsy en masse with the bronchoscope was the main issue that hindered the safety of the procedure. We report two cases where the 1.1 mm cryoprobe was used and the cryobiopsy was extracted through the Radial EBUS GS whilst the bronchoscope remained in the bronchial tree, with excellent control of bleeding, due to the tamponading of the GS as well as the ability to attend to bleeding as soon as it occurred, due to the bronchoscope being inside the airway. This method of obtaining the cryobiopsy through the GS and keeping the bronchoscope in the airway improved the safety of cryobiopsy for PPL. Further studies are required to assess the consistency of yield and safety of this method.