Advanced Lung Diseases

Advanced Lung Diseases

Advanced lung disease (ALD) refers to lung conditions that have worsened to the point where daily activities become challenging. At OU Health, we prioritize your well-being by offering timely appointments, multidisciplinary care, and access to specialists who understand how to effectively manage and treat advanced lung diseases. Our team of experts collaborates with you to create a custom treatment plan tailored to your unique needs.

Multidisciplinary Care for Advanced Lung Diseases

You benefit from OU Health expert pulmonary specialists in Oklahoma City that provide comprehensive and advanced treatment for lung diseases. As part of the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation (PFF) Care Center Network (CCN), we offer the highest level of care for patients with pulmonary fibrosis. Our team collaborates closely with each patient, ensuring personalized and tailored care, and access to the latest clinical trials.

Our Center of Excellence further enhances patient care with a multidisciplinary team of specialized medical and paramedical professionals. This specialized facility, recognized by the World Association of Sarcoidosis and Other Granulomatous Disorders (WASOG), is committed to sustainability, leadership, and best practices. It offers research opportunities and training for sarcoidosis patients and professionals, ensuring a patient-first approach in all we do. Advanced lung diseases we treat include:

  • Interstitial lung disease (ILD) – A group of diverse pulmonary conditions that cause progressive inflammation and scarring in the lungs (pulmonary fibrosis PF)
  • Pulmonary hypertension (PH) – Also known as pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a rare heart and lung condition where pressure in the pulmonary arteries (blood vessels that carry blood from heart to the lungs), is higher than normal
  • Sarcoidosis – A rare inflammatory disease that causes small lumps (granulomas), to collect and affect lung function
  • Other complex advanced lung diseases
Request an Appointment

Find out more about your options for advanced lung diseases or possible next steps for
care with a referral from your provider.

Oklahoma City
(405) 271-7001

Advanced Lung Diseases Symptoms & Causes

Many people with advanced lung conditions have symptoms that affect organs other than the lungs, making it difficult to identify the advanced lung condition. Symptoms may be different for each person and per advanced lung disease condition. Symptoms may include:

  • Shortness of breath that often gets worse with activity
  • Persistent dry cough
  • Chest pain
  • Dizziness or passing out
  • Fatigue
  • Irregular heartbeat or racing pulse
  • Swollen lymph nodes
  • Unexplained weight loss
  • Curvature and enlargement of the fingernails (clubbing)
  • Blue-tinged lips, skin, fingernails (cyanosis)
  • Inflammation and pain of the eyes
  • Joint pains, especially in the hands
  • A rash on the face, neck or knuckles
  • Dryness of the eyes and mouth
  • Swelling around the ankles

Advanced Lung Diseases Treatments & Diagnostics

Establishing early care with a specialized team is key to slowing disease progression and ensuring you receive the most effective treatment.

Care within our program starts with a comprehensive evaluation, where we leverage our extensive experience and thorough diagnostic testing to assess your lungs and explore your treatment options. This allows our experts to recommend a course of treatment using advanced treatment options which include:

  • Transbronchial lung cryobiopsy (TBLC) – A minimally invasive way for obtaining lung tissue to diagnose interstitial lung disease (ILD). OU Health offers the only center in the state of Oklahoma to provide this specialized treatment
  • Right heart catheterization (RHC) – A diagnostic procedure used to determine pulmonary hypertension by measuring pressure in the pulmonary arteries
  • Cardiac positron emission tomography (PET) – A noninvasive nuclear medicine imaging test used to visualize and measure the muscles of the heart to determine cardiac sarcoidosis (CS)
  • Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)– A noninvasive imaging technique used to help visualize heart function by using strong magnets, radio waves and a computer to make an image; also called cardiovascular MRI (CMRI)

Supportive Care Services

Explore OU Health services for advanced lung diseases

  • Oklahoma City Pulmonary Fibrosis Support Group – This group meets on the first Tuesday of each month from 6:30 – 8 p.m. This is a hybrid support group that meets in person and on Zoom. This group is supported by the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation. For information or to be added to the group, call (405) 271-6173, ext. 46252.

Related OU Health Services

Clinical Trials

Ask your OU Health pulmonology care team if you may qualify to participate in ongoing clinical trials for advanced lung diseases. Our collaboration with the Sarcoidosis Research Unit at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation may give qualifying patients access to innovative testing and world-class research opportunities.

Your Advance Lung Diseases Care Team

As you work with OU Health specialists to address your advanced pulmonary conditions, you benefit from the expertise, advanced training and years of experience held by the physicians and specialists who also educate the next generation of doctors, surgeons and therapists.

Depending on your specific situation, your OU Health team may include pulmonary/critical care physicians, rheumatologists, interventional pulmonology specialists, thoracic radiologists, cardiologists and a wide range of other healthcare professionals.