Interventional Pulmonology (IP) is a new field of medicine that has evolved considerably during the past sixty years. Born from the natural evolution of pulmonary procedural medicine, it began with the introduction of flexible fiberoptic bronchoscopy and minimally invasive pleural procedures such as thoracentesis and thoracoscopy, and has since grown to include rigid bronchoscopy, video-assisted interventions, endobronchial ultrasound, and numerous ‘modern’ diagnostic and therapeutic procedural techniques. These are increasingly referred to as advanced bronchoscopy or endoluminal airway surgery, which also includes robotics, computer simulation, the incorporation of novel technologies, and artificial intelligence.

The goal of this preface, however, is not to produce a history of the field or a timeline of its evolutionary processes. These tasks are left to others who will hopefully provide such much-needed works to their bronchoscopy or interventional pulmonary society’s institutional memories, not only to commemorate the field, but also to honor those physicians and surgeons responsible for the field’s continued expansion, thus benefiting thousands of patients. My aim is simply to explain why I think books about ethics and philosophy are a necessary addition to the disease and procedural technique-related texts already available, and to help interventional pulmonologists around the world learn more about medical ethics particularly related to their field.

The manual, Introduction to Ethics in Flexible Bronchoscopy, is an introductory text that might serve as a reference for practitioners and IP specialists in-training. It may be used as supplemental reading or as course material for Train-the-Trainer and other IP-related teaching programs. This text is neither all-encompassing nor fully explanatory, and much more can be said about the issues addressed. The objective of this manual is to provide IP practitioners with a modest background of knowledge in ethics, philosophy, and ethics-related problem-solving techniques, as well as a means for better understanding the how and why of ethical reasoning and analysis. (This text is also available on Amazon and Kindle).

Introduction to Ethics in Flexible Bronchoscopy