Pulmonary Care
At UNC Medical Center, pulmonary care spans a wide range of conditions. No matter your diagnosis, you can expect the highest level of care at UNC’s Division of Pulmonary Medicine. We combine the expertise of several medical disciplines to provide state-of-the-art, integrated care. In addition, we provide both pulmonary rehabilitation and smoking cessation support.
Integrated Care
Our Division of Pulmonary Medicine combines expertise in a wide array of pulmonary disease processes and works closely and collaboratively with areas of cardiology, thoracic surgery, medical and radiation oncology, physical therapy, social work, neurology, nutrition and psychology to provide multifaceted care to patients.
In addition to providing state of the art care for general pulmonary disorders, we have multiple providers and subspecialized care teams that are focused on meeting the needs of patients with a1-antitrypsin deficiency, pulmonary hypertension, cystic fibrosis, interstitial lung disease, lung cancer, sarcoidosis, pleural diseases and primary ciliary dyskinesia. Our pulmonologists also provide pre- and post-operative care for patients who require lung transplantation.
Conditions We Treat
At UNC, we have multidisciplinary clinics dedicated to the treatment of:
- Asthma – a chronic lung condition with symptoms that may include a periodic cough, wheezing, tightness in the chest, and shortness of breath
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) – a variety of lung diseases that commonly include chronic bronchitis and emphysema
- Lung Cancer
- Lung Transplant
- Sleep Disorders
- Cystic Fibrosis – a genetic diseases that affects lung function
- Pulmonary Hypertension - a lung disorder in which blood pressure in the pulmonary artery rises above normal levels
- Non-CF bronchiectasis – a chronic lung condition that has symptoms similar to Cystic Fibrosis
- A1-antitrypsin deficiency – a genetic form of emphysema
- Sarcoidosis - a disease in which the body’s immune system becomes activated for unclear reasons, and affects the lungs in more than 90% of cases
- Pleural Diseases – diseases that affect the tissue and fluid surrounding your lungs and lining the inside of your chest cavity
- Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia (PCD) - a genetic disease that causes a chronic cough, recurrent infections of the lung (bronchitis and/or pneumonia), scarring of the airways, chronic sinusitis, and ear infections.
- Interstitial lung disease – a collection of diseases characterized by inflammation and scarring of the lung tissue
Ready to Quit Smoking?
We know that smoking is one of the greatest health risk factors facing our society. Among its devastating effects are significantly contributes to the development of heart disease, emphysema, chronic bronchitis, and lung cancer. Though its negative effects are well known, we recognize that it can be an extremely difficult habit to break. UNC is ready to help! Doctors and nurses in the pulmonary clinic and the multidisciplinary lung cancer clinic can address the use of medications to aid quitting.
