I continually boggle to consider how much surgical treatment of these malignancies has evolved and results have improved since I completed my thoracic surgery residency and began my practice of genera thoracic surgery in 1981. The two changes with the most impact are the way these operations are performed and Read More
Category: Chest Surgeons
You may never have heard of achalasia. This uncommon disorder of esophageal function was a mystery for many years until physicians took advantage of the advent of esophageal motility studies to first define it and next to develop treatments. Esophageal motility studies use a catheter inside the esophagus to evaluate Read More
In 1895 William Macewen, a Scot, removed an entire lung from a patient with rampant infection. He was the first to successfully accomplish this operation, a pneumonectomy. Remarkably, he incorporated none of the technical actions that are and have been routinely and consistently used by thoracic surgeons for many years Read More
It seems time to revisit this topic. Barrett’s esophagus picked up its name years ago when the surgeon Norman Barrett in England performed an esophagectomy on a patient with an ulcer in the esophagus. The final pathologic exam of the esophagus showed that the cells lining the inside of the Read More
The last two posts reviewed the thoracic surgical thought that informs the decision-making process for a patient being evaluated for a lung cancer operation. If the cancer is potentially curable and pulmonary assessment shows the patient will have sufficient lung function after the operation it’s a go. But a third Read More
Heartburn. A common complaint and the hallmark of acid reflux from the stomach into the esophagus. For some it’s mild and intermittent and for others it can be severe and unrelenting. Obesity predisposes to reflux, as also for diabetes, and the heartburn that results; not surprising that GERD worsens the Read More
These surgeons, about whom I have previously written, are two of the giants on whose shoulders the current generation of surgeons stands. They overlapped in time, interests and accomplishments. Both were innovative and creative and made seminal contributions to the development of surgery. Among other achievements these men developed eponymous Read More
The thoracic outlet is the part of the body surrounded by the curvature of the first rib on each side; this is the base of the neck and the top of the chest. The blood vessels (arteries and veins) and nerves to the arm exit from the chest through this Read More
Lung cancer is a killer. It ends the life of more Americans than any other cancer. Frustratingly for those of us surgeons who do or have treated afflicted patients, the likelihood of developing lung cancer can be significantly diminished. Actively smoking or being exposed passively to the exhaled smoke from Read More
You might think that the esophagus—it starts in the neck but most of it nestles safely within the chest and abdomen, guarded by ribs and a lot of tissue—is safe from being burned. Not so. Just as food has access to the inside of the esophagus so do a variety Read More
