Thoracic Surgery

New Patient Appointment or 214-645-7700

General Thoracic Surgery at UT Southwestern Medical Center is dedicated to the prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment of diseases of the chest (thorax) and upper gastrointestinal system (esophagus and stomach).

Our thoracic surgeons are specialty-trained physicians who continue to expand treatment options for patients, utilizing minimally invasive procedures, including video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) and robotic-assisted technology. We offer a wide variety of chest operations – and perform more than 800 of these procedures every year.

We apply state-of-the-art surgical techniques with a focus on early diagnosis, better cancer staging, and multidisciplinary care to the treatment of malignancies of the chest such as lung cancer, esophageal cancer, thymic malignancies, and mesothelioma. Our National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, the gold standard for cancer centers, is a center for excellence in patient care, research, and education, and the only center with this designation in North Texas.

We are also dedicated to the treatment of benign conditions of the chest such as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), hiatal hernias, achalasia, myasthenia gravis, hyperhidrosis (sweaty palms), and diverticula of the esophagus.

More than 90 percent of our thoracic operations are performed minimally invasively, which offers many benefits, including:

Reduced pain
Improved postoperative recovery
Reduced hospital stay
Reduced scarring
Reduced complications
Reduced inflammatory response
Faster recovery and sooner return to regular activities

Comprehensive Care

Our thoracic surgeons are an integral component of a multidisciplinary team that includes pulmonologists (lung specialists), gastroenterologists (digestive and liver diseases specialists), medical oncologists (cancer specialists), radiation oncologists (cancer specialists), radiologists, interventional radiologists, advanced practice nurses and nurse practitioners, nutritionists, physical therapists, and social workers. Our team of specialists is dedicated to the multidisciplinary evaluation and comprehensive care of patients with diseases of the chest and provide every patient with the best experience.

All of our experts are available on the same campus, and you can usually see them in one day.

We are also committed to research and offer clinical trials that give eligible patients access to the newest, most promising therapies for thoracic diseases. Many of these clinical trials offer a personalized approach in which molecular defects found in tumors undergo specific targeted therapy. Talk with your doctor to determine if a clinical trial is right for you.

In addition, we also offer state-of-the-art computed tomography (CT) lung cancer screening for patients at high risk for the disease.

Thoracic Conditions and Treatments

Our dedicated group of general thoracic surgeons treats patients with both malignant (cancerous) and benign (noncancerous) conditions of the chest.

The general thoracic surgery team evaluates and treats diseases of the chest, lung, esophagus, chest wall, mediastinum, diaphragm, pericardium, and airway.

Conditions that can be treated with thoracic surgery include:

Benign (noncancerous) conditions such as:

Esophageal dysmotility
Esophageal perforation
Esophageal reflux
Hyperhidrosis
Chest wall diseases – including congenital deformities, noncancerous tumors and masses, thoracic outlet syndrome, Paget Schroetter syndrome, and pectus excavatum and carinatum
Diaphragm diseases – including paralysis, pacing, plication, and congenital diaphragmatic hernia

Malignant (cancerous) thoracic conditions such as:

Future of Thoracic Surgery

Inderpal Sarkaria, M.D., Chief of the Division of Thoracic Surgery, shares his optimism for the future of Thoracic Surgery at UT Southwestern.

Surgical Treatments

Our general thoracic surgeons perform the most advanced surgical procedures available for all types of chest conditions – both malignant (cancerous) and benign (noncancerous). These surgical treatments include:

Advanced flexible and rigid bronchoscopy, laser, argon, cryotherapy, microdebrider, stents
Antireflux procedures, Nissen, Heller, Dor, Belsey, reoperative antireflux procedures
Chest wall reconstruction for pectus excavatum and carinatum and other chest wall abnormalities
Diaphragmatic plication
Esophageal diverticulectomy
Esophageal mass resection
Esophageal reconstruction with colon or small bowel
Esophageal stent placement
Esophagectomy, minimally invasive and robotic
First rib resection for thoracic outlet syndrome and tumors
Heller myotomy
Lobectomy
Lung biopsy
Lung volume reduction surgery for end-stage emphysema
Median sternotomy
Mediastinal mass resection
Minimally invasive and robotic surgeries
Nuss pectus excavatum repair

Paraesophageal hernia “Giant Hiatal Hernia” repair
Pleurodesis
Pleuroscopy and pleural biopsy
PleurX catheter placement
Pneumonectomy
POEM (Peroral endoscopic myotomy) – endoscopic procedure to treat swallow disorders, including achalasia
Ravitch chest wall reconstruction
Resection of the chest wall
Segmentectomy
Sleeve lung resection
Sternal resection for tumor
Thoracic sympathectomy
Thoracotomy for lung, esophageal, mediastinal, and diaphragm resection
Thymectomy
Tracheal and bronchial stent placement
Tracheal and carinal resection
Tracheal resection for stenosis and tumor
Tracheoplasty for tracheomalacia
Wedge resection
Zenker’s diverticulectomy