Initially the patient must enter in contact with the Emphysema Treatment Group at Hospital Moinhos de Vento, by the email nucleo@enfisema.com.br or the telephone + (55 51) 3085.7470.
Evaluations are scheduled in way that between 48h and 72h be possible to define the indication or not for emphysema treatment with valves.
1) With the appointment scheduled, the patient goes to the Emphysema Treatment Group and is attended by Dr. Sílvia Martins de Oliveira (pneumologist), who will perform a clinical evaluation.
2) In the same day, the patient carries out examinations according to the clinical evaluation by the pneumologist.
3) Soon after tomography recording, the images are transferred to an available equipment in the Group, named Apollo, which allows a precise analysis of lung and even to simulate the treatment.
4) The team of the Group assembles to discuss all aspects concerning the evaluation, reaching a conclusion on whether or not the treatment should be indicated.
5) The data are shown to the patient and his relatives.
* Pre-evaluation for patients with locomotion difficulty:
In this situation, the patient can carry out a tomography of lung in his own city and send it in digital archive (the radiology clinic delivers a CD with the digital examination) for the Group.
For this, it is important that the doctor who attends the patient participates of the indication for thoracic tomography, which must be made by means of a specific protocol, so that it can be analyzed in the Group’s equipment.
Thus, the patients who cannot move to Porto Alegre must talk with their doctor so that the team of the Group can make contact and guide the realization of the tomography
See also a clarifying video on emphysema and valves