Specialty Question

[MedStudentWanna]

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I know there's a specialty called cardiothoracic surgery and one called thoracic surgery. Are they the same? Also, is it correct to refer to throracic surgeons as heart surgeons? I never thought it was, but I've seen that done in a few places so am I wrong?

 

[OSUdoc08]

I know there's a specialty called cardiothoracic surgery and one called thoracic surgery. Are they the same? Also, is it correct to refer to throracic surgeons as heart surgeons? I never thought it was, but I've seen that done in a few places so am I wrong?

http://www.nrmp.org/fellow/match_name/thoracic/about.html

They are the same.

 

[Smoke This]

That may be technically correct to say they're the same, but in practice people calling themselves thoracic surgeons mean they restrict themselves to general thoracic (non-cardiac) surgery, basically lung and esophageal surgery. You're trained for both cardiac and thoracic in the aptly named "cardiothoracic" fellowship though.

 

[OSUdoc08]

That may be technically correct to say they're the same, but in practice people calling themselves thoracic surgeons mean they restrict themselves to general thoracic (non-cardiac) surgery, basically lung and esophageal surgery. You're trained for both cardiac and thoracic in the aptly named "cardiothoracic" fellowship though.

The thoracic surgeons at our affiliated hospital perform cardiac surgery. Your statement is not quite accurate.

 

[MedStudentWanna]

One more question. Are cardiologists and cardiac surgeons the same? Can a cardiac surgeon (or a cardiothoracic surgeon) refer to him/herself as a cardiologist? Can cardiologists be surgeons?

 

[OSUdoc08]

One more question. Are cardiologists and cardiac surgeons the same? Can a cardiac surgeon (or a cardiothoracic surgeon) refer to him/herself as a cardiologist? Can cardiologists be surgeons?

Cardiologist = Internal Medicine Residency + Cardiology Fellowship

Cardiothoracic Surgeon = General Surgery Residency + Thoracic Surgery Fellowship

 

[Smoke This]

The thoracic surgeons at our affiliated hospital perform cardiac surgery. Your statement is not quite accurate.

Good for them. The thoracic section at my school are general thoracic surgeons. The cardiac surgeons obviously do cardiac. They are in the same division though.

 

[OSUdoc08]

Good for them. The thoracic section at my school are general thoracic surgeons. The cardiac surgeons obviously do cardiac. They are in the same division though.

😕

 

[mysophobe]

None of the thoracic guys I know do cardiac. Some of them didn't do a fellowship, they just do general thoracic surgery. The cardiothoracic guys call themselves cardiothoracic guys.

 

[OSUdoc08]

None of the thoracic guys I know do cardiac. Some of them didn't do a fellowship, they just do general thoracic surgery. The cardiothoracic guys call themselves cardiothoracic guys.

How do they do thoracic surgery without having done a thoracic surgery fellowship?

Where is this hospital, so I can avoid it?

Thanks.

 

[bigfrank]

Holy crap, what a worthless thread.

 

[remedios]

Training for cardic surgeries and thoracic surgeries occur in the same fellowship of cardiothoracic surgery, as mentioned above. However, given all the data out there on volume --> better outcome, people tend to specialize either in cardiac surgeries or thoracic surgeries in most academic center. That's why you have subdivisions in the cardiothoracic surgery division.

Also, I believe the subspecialization is such that people who are entering the field are often expected to declare which subspecialty (cardiac or thoracic) they want to pursue, and will be set up with the a longer training time in that specific area correspondingly.