Cardiothoracic Surgery and the Role of a Cardiothoracic Surgeon
This is the field of medicine that provides treatment in the form of surgery for diseases in the organs inside the chest (thorax). This includes diseases of the coronary arteries, heart valves, and congenital heart diseases. It also involves treatments for conditions, often malignant diseases, of the lungs, the chest wall, the diaphragm, and the esophagus.
There are three main specialties in the field of cardiothoracic surgery
1. Cardiac – This focuses on cardiac surgeries and inolves conditions such as coronary heart disease. Surgeries performed may include cardiothoracic heart valve replacements and the replacement of unhealthy arteries with arteries or veins from another part of the body.
2. Thoracic – These are the surgeries involved with the lungs, chest wall, esophagus and diaphragm. Some typical surgeries are the removal of a diseased lung or a portion of the lung. Alobectomy is the removal of one lobe of the lung.
3. Congenital – This is considered to be the most difficult of the cardiothoracic surgeries and is the surgical treatment of a defect of the heart that occurs in the body while the fetus is being formed. The patients are usually children or newborns with very complex heart defects.
Education and Training
Cardiothoracic surgery is one of the most difficult and taxing specialities for any doctor deciding to pursue a surgical career. Training as a cardiothoracic surgeon is ongoing, but to become fully certified and with good consultation abilities it can take over 15 years. Before anyone can begin specialized training, of course, they must attain a medical degree that includes the basics of general medicine and surgery.
This must be followed by several years of training to gain surgical qualification. These qualifications must come from an organization such as the Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons. This can take approximately four years.
To practice as a consultant, the surgical candidate must attain a Certificate of Completion of Specialist Training, meaning they must complete study in a specialized area. This usually requires six more years. Many doctors choose orthopedics and their specialty.