Homogeneity does not describe the surgical community.
This can confuse someone looking for the right lung cancer surgeon.
There are general surgeons and thoracic surgeons (who have confusingly self-divided themselves into cardiac, cardiothoracic and general thoracic subspecialties). Within all these surgical groups can be found surgeons who operate for lung cancer. Who should a patient choose?
How are surgeons trained?
Most general surgeons during residency receive a limited exposure to operations for lung cancer; typically, a few months constitutes their learning experience. Thoracic surgeons historically spent a year involved with lung cancer patients, operating and providing hospital care. This pattern has changed. Trainees interested in general thoracic surgery now spend 18 months to two years dedicated mainly to lung cancer issues while those gravitating to cardiac (heart) surgery spend their time almost exclusively developing skills in that endeavor.
What do surgeons practice?
In practice, there are general, cardiac and cardiothoracic surgeons who operate for lung cancer. While there may be exceptions, few if any of these surgeons do so on a regular basis. In contrast, lung cancer constitutes for most general thoracic surgeons (my specialty so I’m obviously biased) the most frequently encountered disease and is a weekly if not daily concern. What to do, when to do it and how to perform these operations are questions constantly being considered by our community.
I believe the considerations of how a surgeon was trained and the focus of their practice should be considered in choosing a surgeon for a lung cancer operation. In fairness, there are other considerations. If a general or cardiothoracic surgeon can demonstrate a history of good results and regular performance of lung cancer operations an argument can be made for choosing one for care (especially where finding a thoracic surgeon means a trip away from one’s home community). This can be determined by asking how many operations they have performed, what their results are and speaking to previous patients.
