Tuberk Toraks 2019;67(1):15-21 Özdemir C, Sökücü SN, Kocatürk Cİ, Kara K, Tural Önür S, Altın S, Dalar L. 15 Are flexible bronchoscopic cryoextraction practices an alternative to rigid bronchoscopy? doi • 10.5578/tt.67901 Tuberk Toraks 2019;67(1):15-21 Geliş Tarihi/Received: 29.05.2018 • Kabul Ediliş Tarihi/Accepted: 17.02.2019 KLİNİK ÇALIŞMA RESEARCH ARTICLE Cengiz ÖZDEMİR 1 Sinem Nedime SÖKüCü 1 Celalettin İbrahim KOCATüRK 2 Kaan KARA 1 Seda TURAL ÖNüR 1 Sedat ALTIN 1 Levent DALAR 3 1 Clinic of Chest Diseases, Istanbul Yedikule Chest Diseases and Chest Surgery Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey. 1 İstanbul Yedikule Göğüs Hastalıkları ve Göğüs Cerrahisi Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi, Göğüs Hastalıkları Kliniği, İstanbul, Türkiye 2 Clinic of Chest Surgery, Istanbul Yedikule Chest Diseases and Chest Surgery Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey. 2 İstanbul Yedikule Göğüs Hastalıkları ve Göğüs Cerrahisi Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi, Göğüs Cerrahisi Kliniği, İstanbul, Türkiye 3 Department of Chest Diseases, Bilim University, Europe Florence Nightingale Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey 3 Bilim Üniversitesi Avrupa Florence Nightingale Hastanesi, Göğüs Hastalıkları Anabilim Dalı, İstanbul, Türkiye SUMMARY Are flexible bronchoscopic cryoextraction practices an alternative to rigid bronchoscopy? Introduction: We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of flexible bronchoscopic cryoextraction in the treatment of airw ay obstruction arise from mucus plugs and blood clots and present our experience. Materials and Methods: The present study evaluated patients who previously underwent unsuccessful flexible bronchoscopy for the removal of secretions and blood clots in the central airway and who underwent flexible broncho- scopic cryoextraction between January 2013-November 2017. Results: The study included seven patients with a mean age of 58.29 ± 18.56 years (28-76). Three patients underwent bedside intervention in the intensive care unit, and four patients underwent an intervention in the bronchoscopy unit. Seven patients underwent a total of nine sessions of cryoextraction. Severe complications or mortality did not occur during the cryoextraction ses- sions. Conclusion: Flexible bronchoscopic cryoextraction offers a safe treatment strategy as an alternative to rigid bronchoscopy in patients in whom airway patency cannot be achieved using other flexible bronchoscopic interventions. and accuracy of PET was higher compared to CT with this cut-off value. Key words: Flexible bronchoscopy, cryoextraction, mucus plug, blood clot Dr. Cengiz ÖzDEmİR İstanbul Yedikule Göğüs Hastalıkları ve Göğüs Cerrahisi Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi, İSTANBUL - TÜRKİYE e-mail: cengizoz78@yahoo.com Yazışma Adresi (Address for Correspondence) Cite this arcticle as: Özdemir C, Sökücü SN, Kocatürk Cİ, Kara K, Tural Önür S, Altın S, et al. Are fexible bron- choscopic cryoextraction practices an alternative to rigid bronchoscopy? Tuberk Toraks 2019;67(1):15-21. ©Copyright 2019 by Tuberculosis and Thorax. Available on-line at www.tuberktoraks.org.com