Chest (General Thoracic) Surgery in Minnesota

Overview

Mayo Clinic's Chest Surgery team provides high quality, comprehensive diagnosis and surgical care to adult patients with diseases of the lungs, trachea, esophagus, diaphragm, chest wall and mediastinum.

Mayo Clinic's chest surgery practice began in 1915. Many surgical innovations still employed throughout the world were developed here in Rochester by the Mayo Clinic chest surgeons. Today, the Mayo Clinic Thoracic Surgery Division is the largest in the Midwest and is among the largest in the United States. Mayo Clinic chest surgeons perform high volumes of complex chest surgery procedures using the latest technology and procedure innovations. Mayo Clinic's chest surgery team is actively involved in many clinical trials looking into the latest treatments for chest diseases.

The surgical team is staffed by five board-certified general chest surgeons. Chest surgeons who are board certified in general thoracic surgery have the training necessary to both diagnose and surgically manage disease of the chest. The surgical team reviews its surgical outcomes on a regular basis in a continued effort to provide the highest standard of care for our patients.

Patients are cared for on a specialized chest surgery floor that incorporates state-of-the-art monitoring and a modern on-floor pulmonary rehabilitation center. Comprehensive services, including educational instruction, are available to patients beginning with preparation for surgery and following the procedure through the return home. Every effort is made to ensure that comfort and recovery needs are attended to with efficiency and expertise. Since 1993, Mayo Clinic has routinely surveyed its chest surgery patients. Results have been consistent with 98 percent of patients saying they would return to Mayo Clinic for surgery, and 99 percent recommending Mayo Clinic to their family and friends.

Chest surgeons are members of a health care team that works to optimize the patient's condition before, during and after general thoracic surgery. This team is specially trained to meet the patient's needs throughout their surgical experience and return home. The Chest Surgery team includes:

• diagnostic specialists
• pathologists
• oncologists
• physicians assistants
• respiratory therapists
• surgical and intensive care nurses
• other allied health professionals

The majority of chest surgery at Mayo Clinic is performed at Saint Marys Hospital. It features 45 operating rooms equipped with state-of-the-art diagnostic and surgical equipment and is fully accredited by the Joint Commission.