Lasers Help Patients Get Their Breath Back

There's no better advert for an anti-smoking campaign than a patient with advanced emphysema. With up to 90% of their lung tissue destroyed, such people are often too fragile to survive the traditional operations that might otherwise help them. But all that may be changing with the advent of less invasive surgical techniques that employ lasers and tiny video cameras. Dead tissue can be removed and whatever lung remains can be reshaped so that it can function more normally.