Thoracic surgery is the branch of surgery that deals with the surgical treatment of one or more organs or structures located in the chest cavity.
What does a thoracic surgeon do?
A thoracic surgeon is a surgeon who specializes in surgery performed on one or more organs or structures located in the chest cavity including the lungs, esophagus, chest wall, and mediastinum.
What diseases are treated by a thoracic surgeon?
The surgeon can treat pathologies of organs, tissue and bony structures that are located in the chest for which a surgery is required. Among the diseases and disorders often treated by a thoracic surgeon are cancer such as lung and esophageal, hiatal hernia, dysphagia, emphysema, and acid reflux.
For diseases linked to the heart the patient will be treated by a heart surgeon.
What are the procedures used by a thoracic surgeon?
The procedures used by the surgeon include lobectomy (removal of portion of the infected lung), or pneumonectomy (removal of whole lung), oesophagectomy (removal of whole or portion of the infected esophagus), thoracoscopy, bronchoscopy, esophagoscopy, and lung transplantation.
When should a patient visit a thoracic surgeon?
A general practitioner will send the patient to a thoracic surgeon if there is an issue that has to be resolved with surgery. The patient should also visit the surgeon after a surgery in order to monitor the postsurgical recovery.
