This book provides an unbiased and evidence-based guide to the potential role of interventional pulmonology as an alternative to thoracic surgery. Interventional pulmonology is a new and quickly growing sub-specialty in pulmonary medicine and increasingly more pulmonologists are turning to interventional therapies over the more costly and invasive surgical options. The text thoroughly presents detailed coverage of and diagnostic methods for many diseases and conditions that pulmonologists encounter daily, including: diffuse lung infiltrates, solitary lung nodule, undiagnosed exudative pleural effusion, pneumothorax, hemoptysis, and airway foreign body. Experts then detail treatment options, from both a surgical and interventional perspective, with guidance on: when each procedure is most appropriate, what can be performed by a pulmonologist (with guidelines on how those procedures are done) versus what needs to be referred to a thoracic surgeon or an intervention pulmonologist, and the benefits and disadvantages involved with each option. This is an ideal guide for pulmonologists, trainees, and students to better understand the full scope of possible treatment options for their patients and to make the best informed decision about patient care.

This issue of Thoracic Surgery Clinics of North America focuses on Innovations in Thoracic Surgery. Articles will include: Advances in Image Guided Thoracic Surgery; Evolving Applications of Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) in Thoracic Surgery; Novel Technologies for Isolated Lung Perfusion - Beyond Lung Transplant; Peroral Endoscopic Myotomy (POEM) for Achalasia; Bioengineered Organs: Dream or a Reality?; Credentialing for New Technology; Endoscopic Resection and Ablation for Early Stage Esophageal Cancer; Novel Technologies in Bronchoscopic Lung Volume Reduction; Advances in Uniportal Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery: Pushing the Envelope; Guided Bronchoscopy for Peripheral Pulmonary Nodules; Nanotechnology: Applications in Thoracic Surgery?; Present and Future Application of Energy Devices in Thoracic Surgery; and more!