Dr Vivek Gundappa

22/07/2026

🚀 INTair 2026 – What an incredible experience! 🙌

Proud to be part of the Fortis family and honored to contribute as faculty, presenting on 🫁 Augmented Fluoroscopy in Interventional Pulmonology.

A huge thank you to Srivatsa Lokeshwaran sir and the entire Fortis INTair organizing team for delivering a world-class academic conference. 👏 The outstanding scientific sessions, inspiring faculty, and engaging discussions made it a truly memorable experience.

🙏 Grateful for the learning, collaboration, and friendships. Looking forward to many more such academic milestones!

Bronchoscopy 🫁✨

17/07/2026

11/07/2026

🔍 When One Diagnosis Isn't the Whole Story: A Pleural Effusion That Led Us to a Ruptured Liver Abscess 🫁🦠

Fortis Healthcare - Yeshwanthpur

Every pleural effusion deserves a complete evaluation. Sometimes, the real pathology lies beyond the thoracic cavity.

We recently managed a 57-year-old gentleman whose case highlighted the dangers of anchoring bias and the importance of a multidisciplinary approach. 🤝

🪤 The Diagnostic Trap

🔹 Initially evaluated elsewhere for a right pleural effusion.
🔹 Pleural fluid: Lymphocyte-predominant exudate.
❌ ADA was not performed.
💊 Started empirically on ATT.
⚠️ Presented with worsening breathlessness and abdominal pain.

👀 Beyond the Chest

CT Chest, Abdomen & Pelvis revealed:
🚨 Moderate to massive multiloculated right pleural effusion.
🚨 A large liver abscess beneath the diaphragm.

🔬 Medical Thoracoscopy (Pleuroscopy)

🕸️ Dense fibrotic adhesions with extensive adhesiolysis.
🫁 Thick pleural rind beyond the therapeutic limits of pleuroscopy.
📑 Pleural biopsy: Dense fibrosis.
🔴 A tense, inflamed diaphragm suggested transdiaphragmatic disease.

🤝 Multidisciplinary Management

🎯 Interventional Radiology drained~100 mL of pus from the liver abscess.

🔪Surgical Team performed VATS decortication, achieving complete lung expansion. Intraoperatively, a ruptured diaphragm with pus tracking into the pleural cavity was identified and repaired.

🧫 Final Diagnosis

🦠 Klebsiella pneumoniae isolated from both the liver abscess and pleural fluid.

🧪 Pleural fluid:
✔️ Elevated ADA
✔️ GeneXpert positive for Mycobacterium tuberculosis

🎯 Final diagnosis: Pleural Tuberculosis with Klebsiella empyema secondary to a ruptured liver abscess.

The patient was started on ATT and culture-directed antibiotics.

🌟 The Best Part

❤️ Today, he walked into our OPD...

🚶🏻‍♂️ Smiling.
🫁 Breathing comfortably.
🎉 Free of all drains.

Moments like these remind us why we do what we do.

💡 Key Learning Points

📌 Pleuroscopy is invaluable—not only for diagnosis and biopsy, but also for assessing disease extent and guiding further management.
📌 Always think beyond the pleural space when the clinical picture doesn't fit.

10/07/2026

🫁 15 days. One hidden peanut shell. One life-changing intervention.

Proud to share this remarkable pediatric airway case managed by our team at Fortis Hospital, Yeshwanthpur. A reminder that early suspicion and timely bronchoscopy can be truly lifesaving.



📰 Read the full story below:

Doctors at Fortis Hospital Yeshwanthpur saved the life of a two-year-old boy who suffered severe respiratory distress after a peanut shell remained lodged deep inside his airway for nearly 15 […]

30/06/2026

✨ Grateful. Honoured. Inspired. 🫁

It was a privilege to serve as a Panelist and Chairperson at BRONCHOCON 2026. 🎙️

A heartfelt thank you to the Indian Association for Bronchology and the organizing committee for this opportunity. It was enriching to exchange ideas, share experiences, and learn alongside some of the brightest minds in bronchoscopy and Interventional Pulmonology. 🤝📚

Here's to continued learning, collaboration, and advancing respiratory care together! 🚀

28/06/2026

🎤 Advancing Respiratory Care Through Knowledge Sharing 🫁✨

It was a privilege to be invited as a speaker at the IMA Doddaballapur CME, where I had the opportunity to deliver a talk on Interventional Pulmonology.

🔬 Interventional Pulmonology is transforming the diagnosis and management of complex respiratory diseases. From advanced bronchoscopy and EBUS to minimally invasive airway and pleural interventions, these innovations are enabling earlier diagnosis, greater precision, and improved patient outcomes.

💡 The engaging discussions, insightful questions, and enthusiastic participation from fellow clinicians made the session truly rewarding. Academic forums like these play a vital role in fostering collaboration, sharing knowledge, and advancing the quality of patient care.

🙏 My sincere thanks to the IMA Doddaballapur team for the warm hospitality, excellent organization, and the opportunity to share my experience.

🤝 Looking forward to many more opportunities to contribute to continued medical education and the growth of Interventional Pulmonology.

12/06/2026

🫁 Three Months of Treatment. Three Hours to the Truth.

Fortis Healthcare - Yeshwanthpur, Bengaluru.

👴 72-year-old gentleman
📍 Referred to me by his sister, who is one of my patients.

The Story
▪️ Unintentional weight loss of >16 kg ⚖️
▪️ Known diabetic 💉
▪️ Treated as Lower Respiratory Tract Infection for nearly 3 months 🫁
▪️ Evaluated at multiple centres, but the diagnosis remained elusive
▪️ CT Thorax revealed significant mediastinal lymphadenopathy, raising concerns of malignancy ⚠️

The Turning Point
🔍 We proceeded with EBUS-TBNA.
🔬 ROSE demonstrated granulomatous inflammation right on the table.
🦠 Microbiological analysis subsequently confirmed AFB positivity.

The Outcome
✅ Diagnosis established: Mediastinal Tuberculous Lymphadenitis
✅ Anti-tubercular treatment initiated promptly
✅ Months of uncertainty resolved in a single sitting

The Take-Home Message

Not every patient with weight loss and mediastinal lymphadenopathy has malignancy.

📸 Imaging may raise suspicion.

🧫 Tissue provides the answer.

🎯 The right procedure at the right time can dramatically alter a patient's journey.

⏳ 3 months of uncertainty

⚡ 3 hours to a diagnosis

🏆 One procedure that changed the course of treatment

"When the diagnosis is unclear, tissue is the issue."

09/06/2026

06/06/2026

🫁 A week of firsts, milestones, and momentum at Fortis Healthcare Yeshwanthpur!

Proud to be leading a team that is building advanced Interventional Pulmonology services and expanding the diagnostic options available to our patients.

This week, we successfully performed:

🔹 The first EBUS-TBNA at Fortis Yeshwanthpur, with Rapid On-Site Evaluation (ROSE) confirming granulomatous pathology in real time 🔬

🔹 The first Radial EBUS (rEBUS)-guided cryobiopsy at our centre, successfully sampling a left lung peripheral nodule 🎯

🔹 Diagnostic Medical Thoracoscopy for pleural disease evaluation and tissue diagnosis 🩺

For many, these are just procedures. For our patients, they mean earlier answers, minimally invasive diagnosis, and a clearer path forward.

Grateful to our anaesthesia colleagues, pathology team, nursing staff, technicians, and the entire Fortis Bangalore Yeshwanthpur team for making these milestones possible. 🙏

Every scope passed, every tissue sample obtained, and every diagnosis established is another step towards building a centre of excellence in Interventional Pulmonology and Lung Transplantation. This is just the beginning. 🚀🫁

31/05/2026

🚭 To***co steals breath. Health restores it.

This World No To***co Day, choose life over addiction and health over habit.

Every cigarette avoided is a step toward stronger lungs, a healthier heart, and a longer life.

🫁 Every breath counts.
🌱 Every choice matters.

Say NO to To***co. Say YES to Life.

***coDay