Thoracic Surgery in Florida

Services

Lungs

• Lung transplantation
  
• Lung cancer surgery.

  Mayo Clinic thoracic surgeons work closely with pulmonologists, oncologists and radiation oncologists to evaluate each patient's options and develop the best treatment plan. Complex cases are reviewed and discussed at a weekly conference of physicians from relevant specialties. Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) is a minimally invasive procedure used to obtain a biopsy without opening the chest.

  Mayo Clinic's designation as a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute makes it possible to offer patients clinical trials and new treatments. Early and advanced cancers are treated aggressively. Procedures range from removing a small portion of the lung (wedge resection) to removing the entire lung (pneumonectomy). For tumors that lie against the bronchus, a "sleeve" resection may be done. In this procedure, a portion of the lung and bronchus are removed and the remaining bronchus is reattached to the lung. Cancers that have spread or metastasized from other organs to the lungs are removed surgically (lung metastectomy) when appropriate.

• Lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS) is a treatment option for patients with severe emphysema, a common type of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The surgeon removes small wedges of damaged lung tissue, usually about 20 to 30 percent of each lung. Removing some damaged air sacs reduces the size of the lungs and results in changes that allow the remaining lung tissue to function better. Often, the result is decreased shortness of breath and improved exercise tolerance. While lung volume reduction surgery does not cure emphysema, it is a proven method to improve some patients' lung capacity, breathing ability and quality of life.
  
• Surgical treatment of lung infections
  
• Surgery to remove tracheal tumors

Esophagus

• Esophageal procedures for cancers and other disorders. Esophagectomy is the surgical removal of the esophagus and a small portion of the stomach. It is commonly done to treat esophageal cancers.
  
• Repairing a tracheal-esophageal fistula. This fistual is an abnormal passage between the trachea and the esophagus and is surgically repaired to prevent aspiration.

Mediastinal procedures

The mediastinum is the space between the two lungs, including the heart and its large vessels, trachea, esophagus, thymus, lymph nodes and connective tissue. Common procedures include:

• Mediastinoscopy: inserting a special endoscope to obtain a biopsy of mediastinal tissue. Cancers that have spread from their original sites may invade the mediastinum. If a biopsy proves a tumor to be cancerous, surgical removal is immediately considered.
  
• Removal of mediastinal tumors.
  
• Thymectomy for myasthenia gravis: surgical removal of the thymus gland to control myasthenia gravis, a rare muscular disorder causing profound weakness.
  

Pleural procedures

The pleura is a two-layer membrane that lines the chest cavity and surrounds both lungs.

• Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery (VATS) pleurodesis. This minimally invasive endoscopic procedure involves roughing up and applying talc to the pleura to form scarring. It is done to control a pneumothorax or hydrothorax, the collection of air or fluids in the pleural cavity, which can occur following chest trauma, emphysema or lung surgery.
  
• Pleural resections: removing the pleural sac or sections of it.
  
• Empyema repair: Inserting a temporary or permanent plastic drain in the chest to control infection in the pleural space.
  
• Repairing bronchopleural fistula, an abnormal passage between the bronchus and the pleura.

Nerve procedure for uncontrollable sweating

• Endoscopic Thoracic Sympathectomy (ETS) is a procedure done with the Department of Neurosurgery to manage uncontrollable sweating (hyperhidrosis). A thoracic surgeon provides video-assisted thoracoscopic access, which allows a neurosurgeon to sever the relevant sympathetic nerve in the chest cavity.

Chest wall procedures

• Pectus repair: a cosmetic procedure to correct a concave chest wall (pectus excavatum).
  
• Removal of chest wall tumors to control potentially invasive or spreading cancer.