NCH First in Southwest Florida to Offer Laser Procedure for Treating Airway Tumors

by Paul Hiltz, NCH President & CEO

At Naples Comprehensive Health (NCH), innovation is how we shape the future of health care in our community. Every advancement we provide to our community reflects our ongoing mission to deliver the highest quality of care. In May of this year, we took another meaningful step forward by becoming the first healthcare provider in Southwest Florida to offer Photodynamic Therapy (PDT), an advanced laser based treatment for patients with certain types of lung and airway tumors.

PDT is a highly targeted treatment that uses a photosensitizing drug called Photofrin® and a specialized laser to destroy cancerous tissue in the airways while sparing surrounding healthy tissue. After the medication is absorbed by the tumor, a controlled dose of laser light activates it, triggering a reaction that destroys the cancer cells. Healthy tissue, though photosensitized, is unaffected by the light exposure.

While this laser technology has been around for some time, the innovative use of it at NCH within the field of pulmonary oncology is new and unique. It is being used as both a curative treatment for certain localized non-small cell lung cancers confined to the airway, and as a palliative treatment for relieving airway obstruction caused by tumor growth, which often leads to post-obstructive pneumonia. In these cases, PDT restores airway patency and improves patient comfort and breathing.

Dr. David Lindner, Division Head of Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine at NCH, shared, “While we’ve long offered advanced options like stenting and intrabronchial chemotherapy, PDT gives us a powerful new tool to help patients who once had very few.”

Due to the significant capital investment required for the laser and the procedure’s highly specialized nature, PDT is not widely available and the number of patients who qualify is relatively small. However, for those patients, this treatment can be life changing— and, in some cases, life saving. NCH is proud to continue its tradition of bringing advanced care to Southwest Florida by investing in technologies that expand treatment possibilities, even for smaller patient populations.

We are committed to bringing this level of innovation to our community and ensuring that Southwest Florida remains at the forefront of medical advancement. That means continuing to invest in technologies and treatments that expand what’s possible for our patients.

For more information about this treatment, visit NCHmd.org

At NCH, we are shaping the future of healthcare—one breakthrough at a time.