Thoracic Surgery

CHI Health’s Thoracic Surgery program is committed to excellence in the multidisciplinary care of patients who have disorders affecting the chest, including the lungs, esophagus, mediastinum, chest wall and diaphragm.

What is Thoracic Surgery?

Thoracic surgeons specialize in the surgical treatment of conditions that affect the chest.  These include cancer and benign conditions of the lungs, esophagus, mediastinum (center of the chest between the lungs), windpipe, chest wall and diaphragm.  

Why Choose CHI Health

• Highly specialized surgeons. Our team has specialized training in thoracic surgery and focuses exclusively on this specialty to provide you with the most cutting edge treatments.
• Collaborative approach. Our thoracic surgeons provide expert multidisciplinary care alongside medical oncology, radiation oncology and pulmonary medicine, and prepare a specialized care plan for you.  Our other partners include Anesthesiology, with whom we developed an Enhanced Recovery After Surgery program to help you get back to your normal activities more quickly.
• Tumor Board. Our Tumor Board meets weekly to review cancer cases and ensure that our patients have access to new clinical trials, targeted molecular therapies and immunotherapy.
• Minimally invasive surgery. We offer minimally invasive approaches to surgery, including VATS (video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery) and robotic surgery.    
• Commitment to innovation. Our surgeons continue to expand our minimally invasive and robotic surgery program.  We are one of a few centers in the U.S. where the surgeons can perform both robotic bronchoscopy and surgery.
• Rapid access to care.  Our team understands the importance of streamlining access to care.  We can accommodate visits within 24 hours and have collaborated with partners in other departments for faster access to imaging and any other testing needed.   
• Telemedicine clinics. We know that some patients can’t always travel to Omaha and we are working to expand our access to keep our patients closer to home. 
• Complex cases. Our team is experienced in managing the most complex cases and we are happy to provide expert second opinions to help our patients make the best treatment decisions.