Jefferson Einstein Philadelphia Hospital is making biopsies better and easier for patients with lung disease. Instead of big incisions, doctors at Einstein are using tiny scopes with tips that freeze. For patients, it means they get diagnosed faster with no downtime. 

Anne Marie Francano said she's relieved to be feeling better after finally being diagnosed with interstitial lung disease, which is an inflammation and scarring of the lungs.

"I was so sick," Francano said. "I honestly didn't think I was ever going to be back to some kind of normalcy."

Difficulty breathing made her sick and weak, having to depend on a wheelchair and supplemental oxygen until she turned to doctors at Jefferson Einstein Philadelphia.

"It was remarkable, really remarkable," Francano said.

Instead of a traditional biopsy, Francano had a minimally invasive procedure called cryobiopsy.

Dr. Sadia Benzaquen said with this cryobiopsy, he uses a tiny frozen scope to retrieve a good tissue sample from the lung, and he invented a technique to stop subsequent bleeding with another scope.

 "Immediately after you come out, you need to go with another scope to the same area you biopsied to prevent bleeding," Benzaquen said. 

Dr. Muhammad Sameed, Francano's pulmonologist at Einstein, said cryobiopsy is an important advance in diagnosing lung disease.

"It causes lesser bleeding, and it's lesser invasive as compared to opening your lung and taking a piece of it," Sameed said. "So it's a win for the patient, it's a win for us, and in the long run it needs some better outcomes."

With her diagnosis, Francano, who lives in Richboro, Pennsylvania, is now getting the treatments she needs.

"I'm able to do more and more, which has been a blessing," she said. 

Doctors said cryobiopsy is just as good as a surgical biopsy for diagnosing interstitial lung disease.