HealthInfo Aoraki South Canterbury
Bronchoscopy
Whakamātaunga pūkahukahu
In a bronchoscopy, a specialist looks at the lining of your lungs from the inside using a bronchoscope. A bronchoscope is a thin, flexible tube with a light and camera. It goes into your lungs either through your nose or your mouth.
You are usually given a sedative during the procedure to help you feel more comfortable. This means you will not be able to have anything to eat or drink for 4 hours before the test is done. You may also need to stop some of your regular medicines either before or on the day of the test. The specialist who is doing the test will give you information about this. If you are not sure, you can speak to your general practice team.
The doctor doing the test may take small samples (biopsies) of your lungs that will go to a laboratory to be tested. You will not feel this, and it will not damage your lungs.
After the bronchoscopy, you may have a sore throat or hoarse voice and a slight nosebleed. If the doctor took some biopsies, you might find streaks of blood in your phlegm. This will usually stop within 24 hours.
Since you received sedation and pain relief during the bronchoscopy, small amounts will remain in your body for the next 24 hours.
The sedation makes you forgetful and can impair your judgement and reflexes. Even if you feel alert, you must not do any of the following for 24 hours:
- drive a car
- operate machinery
- drink alcohol
- sign any legal documents
- ride on public transport alone.
The results from the laboratory can take a few days to come through. For some tests, they can take a few weeks. Your specialist team will discuss what they saw through the bronchoscope and any biopsy results with you and explain what they mean. The results will also be sent to your general practice team who will discuss them with you.
HealthInfo recommends the following pages
- Patient.info – Bronchoscopy
Detailed information about bronchoscopy, including what happens during the procedure and what preparation you need to do. It also talks about side effects and possible complications.
Written by HealthInfo clinical advisers. Last reviewed October 2024.
SourcesReview key: HIBRO-158456
