Stephanie H. Chang, MD

Since childhood, I have wanted to be a doctor and have never wavered from that decision. I was fortunate to train with outstanding surgeons, and this led me to specialize in thoracic surgery. During my residency, I was introduced to lung transplantation and was mentored by the nation’s leaders in this specialty.

At Perlmutter Cancer Center, I care for people who have lung cancer, esophageal cancer, and other thoracic conditions. I specialize in minimally invasive robotic thoracic surgery, which helps decrease pain and allows people to go home sooner and recover more quickly.

I also specialize in surgery that requires a heart–lung machine or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machine—a method used on rare occasions to remove complicated tumors. These machines take over heart and lung function during the surgery. I can also perform complex airway surgery, such as when a tumor affects the carina, which is located at the bottom of the trachea, or windpipe.

The care I provide people with cancer is done as part of a multidisciplinary team of specialists. I believe that a patient-centered approach is the key to achieving optimal outcomes.

In addition to my work at Perlmutter Cancer Center, I am the surgical director of lung transplant at the NYU Langone Transplant Institute. I perform transplants for people who have end-stage lung disease, which is caused by conditions that include pulmonary fibrosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and cystic fibrosis. I chose to specialize in lung transplantation because it is a transformative surgery. Before the procedure, a person often endures a poor quality of life. Afterward, that person can breathe deeply and return to a normal life.

I am proud to work with a team of experts who care deeply about the people we treat. Our goal is to help you feel better, so our team communicates honestly and promptly about whether a transplant is feasible. If it is, we work quickly to place you on the organ waitlist. Our expertise and technology enable us to care for the sickest patients, and we routinely perform transplants for people who have been rejected by other institutions.

I conduct research to identify patients who have early-stage lung cancer and are at risk of a recurrence. My hope is that this work will lead to new treatments. My research also focuses on improving lung transplant outcomes, methods of better preserving organs, and expanding the pool of available organs.