Cardiothoracic surgery (also known as thoracic surgery) is the field of medicine involved in surgical treatment of organs inside the thorax (the chest)—generally treatment of conditions of the heart (heart disease) and lungs (lung disease). In most countries, cardiac surgery (involving the heart and the great vessels) and general thoracic surgery (involving the lungs, esophagus, thymus, etc.) are separate surgical specialties.
Adult cardiac treatments:
- Heart Bypass Surgery
- Minimally invasive heart surgery
- Valve repair/replacement
- Surgery for adult congenital heart disease
- Mechanical circulatory support & heart failure treatments
- Heart transplantation
- Vascular surgery
- Atrial fibrillation corrective surgeries
- Ventricular Assist Devices (VADs)
Pediatric cardiac treatments:
- Minimally invasive heart surgery
- Heart transplantation
Thoracic treatments:
- Lung transplantation
- Minimally invasive pulmonary resections
- Chest wall resection and reconstruction
- Minimally invasive thymectomy, an operation to remove the thymus
- Minimally invasive mediastinal tumor resection
- Lung volume reduction surgery
- Tracheal resection and reconstruction
- Minimally invasive esophagectomy, the surgical removal of all or part of the esophagus
- Minimally invasive esophageal myotomy
- Minimally invasive gastric fundoplication
- Minimally invasive sympathectomy, a procedure during which at least one sympathetic ganglion is removed
- Bronchoscopy
- Endobronchial ultrasound
- Airway stenting
- Esophagoscopy, endoscopic examination of the esophagus
- Esophageal stenting
- Minimally invasive repairs of para-esophageal hernias (Hiatal hernias)