Pulmonary Medicine

The University of Kansas Health System’s pulmonary care team provides advanced care for a complete range of respiratory conditions. From general pulmonary symptoms to complex respiratory illnesses, our specialists, advanced practice providers and nurses deliver the high-quality care you and your loved ones expect and trust.

Our team includes more than 40 board-certified physicians dedicated to multiple subspecialty areas, including critical care and sleep medicine. Our team’s extensive training and knowledge allow us to tailor your care to your unique needs.

We are dedicated to providing exceptional care, outstanding service and leading health education to people in Kansas City, our region and beyond.

As part of our region's premier academic medical center, we treat the full spectrum of pulmonary conditions.

Our specialists have deep experience diagnosing and treating common and rare pulmonary conditions including:

• Asthma
• Bronchiectasis
• Chronic bronchitis
• Chronic cough
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
• COVID-19
• Cystic fibrosis
• Emphysema
• General pulmonary concerns
• Interstitial lung disease
• Lung cancer
• Nontuberculous mycobacterial lung disease
• Pneumonia
• Primary ciliary dyskinesia
• Pulmonary arterial hypertension
• Pulmonary fibrosis
• Sarcoidosis
• Shortness of breath
• Sleep apnea
• Sleep issues
• Vaping-related illness

As a key part of the critical care team, our specialists provide expert care for hospitalized patients facing complex, life-threatening conditions. We treat many of the region’s sickest patients. We often help extend lives and improve the quality of life for people with very severe illnesses.

The level of care we provide critically ill patients sets our health system apart from community hospitals. Many hospitals transfer their sickest patients to our specialized intensive care units. There, highly skilled nurses and intensivists provide 24/7 care.

According to medical studies, this staffing model improves the quality of care and reduces the risk of medical errors. Statistics show patients spend fewer days in the ICU and are discharged from the hospital sooner.

Our critical care team brings broad and deep experience patients need to achieve the best possible outcomes.

The focus of our dedicated subspecialists ensures our team’s knowledge and experience with complex pulmonary conditions are second to none.

• Our nationally recognized asthma specialists provide leading-edge therapies. We offer innovative biologic injectable treatments that block asthma-specific inflammations, improving control and reducing symptoms. This enables many of our patients to successfully stop chronic steroid use. We are also leaders in care for bronchial thermoplasty.
• We offer the Midwest’s largest adult cystic fibrosis care program and are accredited by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. In partnership with the University of Kansas Medical Center, our organization was 1 of 115 participating sites in a clinical trial that led to FDA approval of a breakthrough drug. We were among the nation’s first providers of Trikafta™, which dramatically improves quality of life for many patients managing cystic fibrosis.
• The health system launched its interventional pulmonology service in 2018, and the team of 3 physicians is now the largest and most advanced in the area. The team works in tandem with interventional radiology and the region’s only NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center.
• We offer expertise in rare and complex pulmonary conditions like interstitial lung disease, pulmonary hypertension and sarcoidosis.
• A powerful partnership between our pulmonary and neurology care teams results in leading treatment for sleep disorders.

Our collaborative, interdisciplinary care model elevates the quality of care we provide for these conditions and many others, including general pulmonary conditions and concerns. Our specialists and subspecialists come together to determine precise diagnoses and personalized treatment plans patient by patient. We offer specialty tests not widely available – such as sweat/chloride testing, nasal/nitric oxide testing and much more – along with detailed and reliable interpretation of results to ensure relevant, effective pulmonary care.

We perform a diverse range of pulmonary and critical care procedures including:

• Advanced testing
• Imaging (V/Q lung scans, CT chest scans and X-rays)
• Interventional pulmonology care
• Intrabronchial ultrasound
• Low-dose CAT scan screening
• Lung cancer screening
• Lymph node biopsy
• Nasal/nitric oxide testing
• Pulmonary function tests
• Radial EBUS
• Robotic bronchoscopy
• Sweat/chloride testing
• Zephyr® endobronchial valve for emphysema