Patent ID: 7426929

Claim:
A method to alleviate a symptom of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in a lung of a patient utilizing at least one conduit having a first end which includes a first aperture, a second end which includes a second aperture, an access fitting intermediate the first end and the second end, and a lumen which connects, in fluid communication, the first aperture, the second aperture, and the access fitting, wherein the method comprises: (a) connecting the first end of the conduit to an artificial opening in a wall of a proximal airway such that the first aperture is open to the proximal airway wherein the proximal airway is one of a trachea and a bronchus external to the lung; (b) connecting the second end of the conduit to an artificial opening in a visceral membrane of the lung such that the second aperture is open to an inner volume of the lung; and (c) positioning the access fitting at a location outside the proximal airway and the lung so as to allow at least intermittent access to the lumen from outside the patient; whereby air can exit the lung via the artificial opening through the visceral membrane, enter the lumen through the second aperture at the second end of the conduit, exit the lumen through the first aperture at the first end of the conduit, and enter the proximal airway through the artificial opening in the wall of the proximal airway.