What is a Thoracic Surgeon?

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What is the Thorax?
What Is Thoracic Surgery?
What Is A Thoracic Surgeon?
How Much Training Does A Thoracic Surgeon Receive?
What Is The Society Of Thoracic Surgeons?

What is the Thorax?

The word thoracic is the adjective form of the noun "thorax."  The word thorax derives from the Greek and Latin words for breastplate or chest.  The term thorax refers to the area of the human body that is located between the neck and the abdomen.  The thorax contains the heart, lungs, esophagus and great vessels surrounded by the breastbone or sternum in front, the ribs on each side, and the vertebral column in the back. 

What Is Thoracic Surgery?

Thoracic surgery is the practice of medicine directed toward the surgical treatment of diseases of the chest including coronary artery disease; cancers of the lung, esophagus, and chest wall; abnormalities of the great vessels and heart valves; birth defects of the chest and heart; tumors in the organs contained in the chest cavity; and transplantation of the heart and lungs.

What Is A Thoracic Surgeon?

Unlike general surgeons who may operate on most parts of the body, thoracic surgeons concentrate solely upon the following categories

• Cardiac Surgery - The surgical management of diseases of the blood supply to the heart, heart valves and the great vessels (aorta and vena cava) in the chest, including cardiac transplantation.
• General Thoracic Surgery – A surgical field focusing on treatments for lung cancer, tumors of the chest wall, emphysema, esophageal swallowing problems, lung transplantation, esophageal cancer and gastroesophageal reflux.
• Congenital Heart Surgery – A broad--yet highly specialized--practice of medicine directed toward the correction of heart defects, and furnishing cardiovascular support to infants and children, which also includes pediatric heart transplantation.

How Much Training Does A Thoracic Surgeon Receive?

Thoracic surgeons are among the most highly educated specialists. After college and medical school training, soon-to-be thoracic surgeons will:

• Devote up to five years to a general surgical residency,
• Devote two to three years to thoracic surgery residency,
• Pass the certifying examination of the American Board of Thoracic Surgery.

What Is The Society Of Thoracic Surgeons?

With more than 4,900 members, The Society for Thoracic Surgeons is the largest membership society for thoracic surgeons in the world. Representing the practice areas of cardiothoracic, general thoracic, pediatric thoracic, and transplant surgery, the society is committed to saving, extending, and improving the quality of life for all patients.