The Alair® Bronchial Thermoplasty System is a minimally invasive bronchoscopic procedure performed in three outpatient procedure visits. Each procedure treats a different part of the lungs. The Alair device delivers mild heat to the smooth muscle of the airways in the lungs, reducing the amount of excessive smooth muscle. There is 
no surgery or incision, since it’s performed with a bronchoscope that is inserted through the nose or the mouth. Each part of the treatment is scheduled three weeks apart and your regular doctor can continue managing your asthma.
Bronchial thermoplasty is clinically proven to reduce asthma attacks for at least 5 years. About 80% of patients that were treated with this reported a significant improvement in their asthma-related quality of life. They experienced a 32% decrease in severe asthma attacks, which meant fewer emergency room visits and fewer disruptions from the lives such as missing days from work or school due to their asthma.
Many insurers were reluctant to cover this treatment, saying that it’s still too new and experimental and it’s taken 5 years to prove the sustained benefits for them to cover it. It’s definitely great news for those 25 million people in the U.S. that suffer from asthma. Especially when asthma counts for almost 2 million emergency room visits each year, which is why insurers now see the cost benefit to this procedure.
NEXT: Taking Action Against Asthma
