Airway Disorders

If you have asthma, COPD, emphysema, or another airway disorder, UI Health Care experts can help you breathe easier.

For Lung Services related requests:

For all other requests:: 1-800-777-8442

Airway disorders like asthma and COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) can have a big impact on your quality of life. When it’s hard to breathe, it’s hard to do anything else.

Our team of experts is dedicated to helping you breathe easier, even if your condition is hard to manage.

Maximizing your lung function and making daily activities easier are the goals you and your team will work toward together.

An expert team, focused on you

Our approach to airway disorders care is unique because it’s a true team effort.

Each week, all our providers meet to discuss all their current patients. You’ll have several experts contributing ideas to your treatment plan on an ongoing basis.

And because all providers will be familiar with your plan, you can be seen quickly in our clinic.

Making your personalized plan

On your first visit, you’ll have a full range of pulmonary function tests before you meet with one of our providers. They’ll talk with you in depth about your health history and how you’ve been managing your condition.

After conferring with each other and with you, they’ll make a treatment plan customized to your diagnosis, preferences, and goals. They’ll also:

Educate you about how to manage triggers and keep your environment clean
Show you techniques for clearing mucus from your airway
Provide you with tools that help your medications work more effectively, like spacers for your inhaler

When needed, they may also refer you to specialists in several different areas, including:

If you don’t live near Iowa City, our providers can work with your hometown pulmonologist and primary care provider to carry out your plan.

The most advanced treatments available anywhere

When you choose UI Health Care for treatment, you’ll be treated by national leaders in managing airway disorders.

Every provider on our team is also a researcher studying new treatments. They were instrumental in developing therapies like the Zephyr valve and biologics that harness the power of your immune system.

If you’re eligible, you may be able to participate in a clinical trial of the next generation of leading-edge therapies.

And we specialize in innovative treatments for airway disorders that other providers consider difficult, including: