In the United States, Thoracic surgery is the field of medicine that deals with the surgical treatment of diseases affecting organs within the thorax, including heart and lung diseases.
After completing medical school, these physicians attend a general surgery residency program of five to seven years. Then they join a cardiothoracic surgery fellowship for another two to three years. Thoracic surgeons’ certification is based on the number of surgeries done as primary surgeon, and board certification tests.
Thoracic surgeons have excelled in heart malformation surgery from the early 20th century. Open heart surgery and modern beating heart surgery have helped save many lives since the 1950’s. Thousands of patients have benefited from cardiopulmonary bypass surgeries done by Puerto Rican cardiothoracic surgeons since the inauguration of the Centro Cardiovascular in the late 1980’s at the Puerto Rico Medical Center.
Dr. A. Maldonado