About Us

The Section of Thoracic Surgery has a major emphasis on minimally invasive surgery, including thoracoscopic lobectomy, thoracoscopic/laparoscopic esophagectomy and videomediastinoscopy. The majority of all surgical procedures are done using minimally invasive techniques, as well as the majority of lung cancer resections. In addition, almost all open procedures involve the use of muscle-sparing incisions and newer methods of providing better postoperative pain relief in order to speed recovery.

Yale Thoracic Surgery is a major component of the Thoracic Oncology Program, a multidisciplinary program dedicated to providing cutting-edge evaluation and treatment to patients with thoracic malignancies in an efficient and coordinated manner. Specialties include thoracic surgery, pulmonary medicine, medical and radiation oncology, thoracic radiology, pathology, and oncology nursing. The team approach to clinical care ensures that all aspects are appropriately considered and that the treatment approach is optimized. Furthermore, the close collaboration of the team promotes treatments that are on the forefront of current care and fosters ongoing research to define further advances. The collaboration extends beyond the clinical realm to include basic science and epidemiology researchers.

The section of Thoracic Surgery is significantly involved with local, national and international organizations in defining standards for quality of care. Furthermore, members of Yale Thoracic Surgery have been selected as major contributors in the development of evidence-based guidelines that define the state of the clinical science in thoracic surgery. There is also recognition by professional organizations for their work in developing innovations to advance the field of thoracic surgery forward.

The section is involved in several research projects that are part of an organized research program extending from basic science to epidemiology. This includes specific projects such as microRNA mutations in lung cancers, soluble isoforms of EGFR biomarkers, and the potential susceptibility of tumor markers to degradation during resection. The section of thoracic surgery and the thoracic oncology program is developing a major effort in risk identification, and early detection of lung cancer as a collaborative effort with the School of Epidemiology and Public Health, Biostatistics, Pathology and Cancer Genetics.