Thoracic surgery can mean any surgery that happens in your chest. Heart surgery is a type of thoracic surgery.  

But thoracic surgery also treats the organs and structures that help you breathe and swallow.  

These include your: 

• Lungs: Move oxygen in and carbon dioxide out of the blood
• Chest wall: Protects the lungs
• Esophagus: Tube that runs from your throat to your stomach
• Windpipe (trachea): Connects the mouth to the lungs
• Diaphragm: Muscles that help you breathe
• Mediastinum: The space between your lungs 

Thoracic surgeons do a variety of procedures. One of the many ways they work within the thoracic cavity includes using video cameras called scopes. These can diagnose or treat health issues. The addition of tools to the scope means they can also sample and remove tumors and do minimally invasive surgeries.

Thoracic surgery includes all the types of ​​heart surgery we do for health issues like ​coronary artery disease and ​heart valve disease.  

Thoracic surgery also treats: 

• ​​​Lung cancer: A pneumonectomy removes your entire lung, while a lobectomy removes a lobe of your lung. A wedge resection just removes part of it. We can do a VATS lobectomy, which is a minimally invasive ​​surgery.
• Lung problems: We treat collapsed lungs (pneumothorax) and fluid in the lungs (pleural effusion). We may do a thoracoscopy to examine the space around your lungs. This is a minimally invasive procedure that helps us see inside the chest.
• Esophageal cancer: With an esophagectomy, we remove all or part of the esophagus. Then, we reconstruct it using other tissue from your body.
• Chest tumors: You can develop both cancerous and noncancerous tumors in your chest wall. We can remove the tumor and reconstruct your chest wall.
• Tracheal disorders: We treat a range of windpipe problems. This includes removing tumors and treating the narrowing of the trachea (which makes it hard to breathe).
• Mesothelioma: This is a type of tissue cancer that often affects the lungs. Asbestos exposure is the primary risk factor. We can do surgery to remove tissue in and around the lungs.
• Mediastinal masses: This includes tumors, cysts and enlarged lymph nodes in the space between your lungs. We do a scope procedure called a mediastinoscopy to examine the area, often removing lymph nodes.

As with any surgery, you and your doctor will discuss the risks and benefits of the different surgical approaches. Your surgical options typically depend on the specific health issues we're treating. 

If you're having thoracic surgery to treat cancer, you may also need ​​chemotherapy and ​radiation. We work closely with ​​lung cancer specialists to create the right treatment plan. 

We can do ​​interventional heart procedures instead of surgery for many heart issues, including replacing heart valves. These procedures use catheters threaded through your blood vessels to the heart instead of incisions. 

You'll also discuss whether your thoracic surgery will be open or use a less invasive approach. We can treat many thoracic health issues, including lung cancer, with minimally invasive surgery. 

Minimally invasive thoracic surgery uses only small incisions (instead of one big incision in your chest). This is VATS, or video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery. We pass a small instrument with a camera and surgical tools through the incisions. The surgeon uses the small tools to do the operation, which they watch on the camera. 

We also have a robotic thoracic surgery program that uses robotic-assisted technologies, including the da Vinci Surgical System. They perform surgeries, including lung cancer surgery. Robotic approaches provide more precision and quicker recovery times.

Thoracic surgery covers a wide range of procedures. Your surgeon and care team will give you specific information about your surgery. These are some general things to keep in mind. 

Before thoracic surgery 

Before any thoracic surgery, you'll need certain imaging tests like a CT or PET scan. For surgeries related to your heart, this can include tests like echocardiograms. Your care team will review what other heart and blood vessel tests you might need. 

Your doctor will want to test how well your lungs work for surgeries related to your lungs. They may also do a biopsy first to assess any tumors you have. 

During thoracic surgery 

During your surgery, you'll receive anesthesia. Many thoracic surgeries involve a breathing tube or scope, so it's better to be asleep. 

For certain heart surgeries, you may be on a heart-lung bypass machine. This machine does the work of your heart and lungs so the surgeon can safely operate on them. 

After surgery, you'll go to a post-anesthesia or intensive care unit. Once your doctor removes your breathing tube, they may have you do breathing exercises to help your lungs expand. 

Recovering from thoracic surgery 

Recovery depends on the type of surgery you had. Open surgeries, including open-heart surgery, have a longer recovery than minimally invasive ones. It can take 6 to 12 weeks to recover from an open surgery. 

With VATS and robotic surgery, you'll likely stay in the hospital a few days. People typically return to work and other activities within about 2 weeks. 

For certain types of thoracic surgery, we'll prescribe ​cardiac rehabilitation. Cardiac rehab's supervised exercises help your heart and lungs get stronger.