Head: Prof. Raphael Breuer

Tel: 972-2-677-6817

Fax: 972-2-643-5897

e-mail: raffi@hadassah.org.il

Medical Staff

Prof. Raphael Breuer, MD

(Head, Institute of Pulmonary Medicine & Laboratory for Lung & Molecular Biology)

Adult Unit

Dr. Neville Berkman, MBBCh

Dr. Uri Laxer MD

Dr. Dror Rosengarten, MD (Fellow)

Dr. Nisim Arish, MD (Fellow)

Prof. Michael Goldstein, MD (Visiting Faculty)

Pediatric Unit

Prof. Chaim Springer, MD (Head, Pediatric Unit)

Dr. Avraham Avital  MD

Dr. Avigdor Chevroni, MD

Emeritus Medical Staff

Prof. Simon Godfrey, FRCP, PhD

Laboratory for Lung & Molecular Biology

Dr. Shulamit Wallach-Dayan, PhD (Chief Scientist)

The Institute For Pulmonary Medicine

The Institute provides pulmonary medical care for adults and children, including a complete array of diagnostic studies and services for patients of all ages.

The Institute includes four major clinical services, each of which deals with both adults and children. These are:

Consultation Service

The medical staff provides consultations for patients admitted to the Departments of Internal Medicine, as well as to other adult and pediatric departments, at both the Ein Kerem and Mount Scopus hospitals.

A multidisciplinary tumor board meeting is held weekly in the Institute to discuss optimal management of patients with lung malignancies.

Outpatient Service

Outpatient clinics are held within the Institute premises for patients, including those referred from the community, from other departments, and from other hospitals.

Bronchoscopy Service

Bronchoscopy is an essential tool for the evaluation of patients with a wide variety of pulmonary diseases. Most bronchoscopy procedures are performed using topical anesthesia and light sedation, or brief general anesthesia in children. Medical staff members of the Institute perform operative bronchoscopy procedures such as bronchial, transbronchial, and Wang needle biopsies; laser surgery; electrotherapy; and stent insertion.

Lung Function Laboratories

The clinical service is complemented by lung function laboratories, which are equipped to undertake a wide range of tests in patients of all ages, including spirometry and lung volume measurements, as well as assessment of airway resistance, diffusion capacity, and blood gases. Progressive exercise testing is used to evaluate patients with breathlessness. Bronchial provocation tests, and exhaled nitric oxide measurements for the diagnosis and management of asthma, are used extensively. Special techniques have been developed to make these tests available for young children. A special laboratory undertakes sophisticated lung function tests in infants.

Lung Transplant Service

In cooperation with the Department of Thoracic Surgery, the Institute screens and evaluates patients who are candidates for lung transplant surgery. Postoperative management and long term follow up are provided by a physician-nurse team specialized in the management of lung transplant patients.

Laboratory for Lung & Molecular Biology

A team of physicians and scientists perform molecular, cellular, and animal studies to investigate mechanisms of lung diseases, including lung fibrosis and asthma, with the long term goal of improving patient care.

Clinical Research

·                     Development of hardware and computer techniques for the measurement of lung function in infants

·                     Acoustic analysis of breath sounds for the detection and quantification of wheezing in infants and young children

·                     Studies of bronchial reactivity in infants, children and adults with asthma and other types of chronic lung disease

·                     Studies of nitric oxide levels in normal adults and children and in patients with lung disease

·                     Screening and early detection of lung cancer

·                     Pulmonary hypertension, including genetic screening

·                     Lung function methodology

International, Multi-Institutional Clinical Trials, Conducted in Cooperation with Commercial Entities

§         Drug therapy in moderate-to-severe asthma, outpatient and emergency room settings

§         Drug therapy in stable and moderate-to severe COPD, and in acute exacerbation of COPD

§         Drug therapy in pulmonary hypertension

§         Drug therapy in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

§         Drug therapy in outpatient pneumonia

Basic Research

§         Cellular and molecular mechanisms of lung fibrosis

§         Cellular and molecular remodeling in asthma

§         Chemokines and asthma

§         Murine model of post-transplant bronchiolitis obliterans

§         Genetic predisposition for lung cancer

§         Development of diagnostic techniques for detecting gastro-esophageal reflux and aspiration in animal models and in young children