What is Thoracic Surgery?

Thoracic Surgery refers to surgical procedures performed in the region located inside the rib cage and called thorax in medicine. Lung, diaphragm, rib cage deformities, trachea surgeries are included in the field of thoracic surgery. Although the heart is located in the thorax, it is excluded from the field of thoracic surgery. Therefore, it would not be wrong to define thoracic surgery as the surgeries of organs and tissues other than the heart located in the thorax.

Which diseases are treated by thoracic surgery operations?

The main diseases that fall within the field of Thoracic Surgery are as follows;

Lung Cancer,

Lung nodule,

Lung Masses and Cysts,

Pulmonary Membrane Diseases,

Bronchiectasis,

Pneumothorax,

Trachea surgeries,

Diaphragm surgeries,

Chest wall anomalies,

Masses and formations on the chest wall,

Mediastinal Masses and Cysts,

Thymus Surgery,

Excessive hand and armpit sweating Surgery.

What are the methods in Thoracic Surgery?

The surgical methods used in thoracic surgery may vary depending on the type and stage of the disease, the size of the affected area, and the patient’s cardiac and respiratory capacity.

Significant advances have been made in thoracic surgery in the last 25 years. As a result, the open surgery method called thoracotomy, in which the thorax is opened 20-25 centimeters, is now very rarely used.

In thoracic surgery, the Single Port VATS (single incision closed surgery) method, which is successfully performed only in experienced centers and by experienced surgeons, is preferred. Single Port VATS surgery, which is performed through a single incision of approximately 1-3 centimeters, is used in the treatment of almost all diseases in the field of thoracic surgery.