Thoracic surgery

Conditions that affect the thoracic, or chest region, can be extremely complex. They may encompass multiple organs, damage the lungs or bring risks to your aorta, the heart’s largest artery.

At Aurora Health Care, we offer unparalleled expertise in both thoracic surgery and minimally invasive treatments. We offer video-assisted thoracic surgery and robotic surgery, which allows doctors to use robot-assisted tools to perform very precise treatment. In fact, doctors from around the world come to Aurora to learn about cutting-edge thoracic robotic surgery.

We’re also one of the few hospitals in the nation to receive a 3-star rating from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) in all five procedure categories, including aortic valve replacement and aortic valve replacement plus coronary artery bypass grafting.

What are chest and lung conditions?

Chest and lung conditions, which include esophageal disorders, are often called thoracic conditions. These conditions include a broad group of issues that affect your throat and esophagus, aorta (your body’s main artery), heart, lungs, ribs or other structures in your chest. 

At Aurora, our team of skilled thoracic surgeons works closely with heart and vascular surgeons and cardiologists to provide exceptional treatment for heart, chest, lung and circulatory conditions. Conditions we treat include:

• Achalasia, a condition that prevents the muscle at the bottom of the esophagus from relaxing
• Chest and lung conditions
• Esophageal cancer
• Hiatal hernia, which occurs when part of the stomach pushes upward through a weak spot in the diaphragm
• Hyperhidrosis, excessive sweating
• Lung cancer
• Mediastinal malignancies, tumors in the part of the chest that separates the lungs and chest wall tumors
• Myasthenia gravis, an autoimmune disease that causes weakened muscles
• Pleural effusion, fluid next to the lungs
• Sarcoma, cancer of the soft tissue

Thoracic treatments

We offer coordinated and personalized care with your needs in mind. Whenever possible, we use minimally invasive techniques such as video- and robotic-assisted surgery. These use smaller incisions for a faster recovery and less pain.

Doctors from all over the world come to us to learn about robot-assisted thoracic surgery and video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS). In fact, we’re one of only a handful of national case observation sites for robotic thoracic surgery.

In addition to surgeries performed on the lung and esophagus, our thoracic surgeons perform unique procedures including rib plating and bronchial and tracheal stenting. Additionally, our team works collaboratively with radiation oncology for treatments, photodynamic therapy for lung cancer and brachytherapy, a specialized radiation oncology treatment.

Recovery

During your recovery, you’ll have access to the specialists you need. Our cardiovascular and thoracic team includes:

• Heart, vascular and thoracic surgeons
• Interventional cardiologists who provide minimally invasive treatments
• Intensive care doctors
• Cardiac rehabilitation experts including pulmonary rehab specialists
• Dieticians
• Endocrinologists who specialize in the system of glands and hormones
• Physical, occupational, speech and respiratory therapists
• Pharmacists with expertise in caring for people after thoracic surgeries