What is
Cardiothoracic Surgery?

Cardiothoracic or Chest Surgery is the surgical practice of operating on or inside the chest.

In most Western countries, it is further specialised into Cardiac (i.e. Heart) Surgery, and Thoracic Surgery which deals with the chest wall and other organs inside the chest. Thoracic surgery includes the lungs, the chest wall and the pleura – the space between them. It also includes the trachea, diaphragm, the mediastinum containing the thymus and the oesophagus.

Cardiothoracic Surgery is a dedicated and complex specialty, requiring a specialist team of doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, technicians, dieticians, pharmacists and other professionals to provide expert care to diagnose, operate and manage after surgery the conditions that affect the chest organs. We work closely with the allied specialties of Cardiology and Pulmonology or Respiratory Medicine, Oncology, Anaesthesiology and Critical Care or Intensive Care Medicine.

Treatment is planned jointly with all medical specialties at Multi-Disciplinary Team Meetings (Tumour Board MDT / MDM) where international guidelines e.g. NCCN (US) and NICE (UK) / ESTS (Europe) are followed to optimise care for each individual patient based on the results of their investigations.

Keyhole or Minimal access surgery (also known as Video Assisted Thoracoscopic – VAT or Thoracoscopic surgery) is performed where possible and can be used for the majority of thoracic surgical operations currently. Along with following the latest Enhanced Recovery after Surgery (ERAS) protocols, this reduces the pain and size of the scars, maximising the speed of recovery and return to normal activities.

Thoracic Surgery is performed to diagnose, repair, or treat chest organs affected by cancer, infectious diseases, trauma, pneumothorax or congenital defects.