Dr. Fernandez-Bussy and his colleagues are also working on new advances to diagnose and treat tracheobronchomalacia, or expiratory central airway collapse (ECAC), where the trachea and the two main branches of the airway are weak or “floppy,” closing a person’s airway by nearly 90%. Tracheobronchomalacia is commonly confused with other conditions where people experience shortness of breath and chronic cough.
"Often the patient has been treated with inhalers or steroids for asthma for a long time, but the symptoms have not improved,” Dr. Fernandez-Bussy says. “Then they come to Mayo Clinic and their problem is accurately diagnosed."
Another condition he and his colleagues treat, where patients often depend on inhalers and even supplemental oxygen to survive, is COPD. Many patients will reach a point where they find themselves constantly short of breath. Traditionally, the next step might be a lung transplant. To delay or avoid that step altogether, Dr. Fernandez-Bussy’s interventional pulmonology team uses bronchoscopy to remove destroyed areas of the lungs, leaving the rest of the healthy lung with more space to function.
"The patient feels an improvement in their breathing almost immediately and can continue life without the recovery pains of major surgery," Dr. Fernandez-Bussy says.
For patients with advanced emphysema, Dr. Fernandez-Bussy collaborates with colleagues in Mayo Clinic’s Thoracic Surgery Department to offer lung volume reduction surgery. This surgical option removes damaged lung tissue, allowing the remaining tissue to function better. The results improve exercise capacity, lung function, and overall quality of life.
I believe in team. I believe in a community. And I think that talent is all around the world. And I like to connect with people. People from all over with different backgrounds and different ideas.”
Always evolving and seeking out new inspiration, Dr. Fernandez-Bussy regularly looks outside his immediate sphere of influence, interacting with physicians from other countries and attending international conferences.
"I believe in team. I believe in a community. And I think that talent is all around the world. And I like to connect with people. People from all over with different backgrounds and different ideas," he says.
By having these conversations, and introducing physicians to new technologies, he has helped save lives around the globe. "I'm originally from Argentina, so my background and what I lived when I was a child is completely different than somebody from India, from the Middle East or from Europe. So, all those are just fantastic ingredients for a recipe that will only be successful."
Above all else, the best part of these interactions and being able to observe new approaches from his international peers is that it sparks his own creativity to dream bigger and discover new ways to help more patients. "That’s how we measure success, with the smile of a patient. And maybe it's not a big smile because different patients, different personalities, but when we truly make a difference, you are able to tell in their face. So, yes, we like to think that we help them in their dream."