Thoracic Surgery

NYU Langone’s thoracic surgeons specialize in using robotic-assisted surgical techniques to manage even the most complex cancers and other conditions that involve the lungs, esophagus, trachea, diaphragm, and mediastinum, as well as the surrounding chest area.

Robotic-assisted surgery is a minimally invasive technique that allows for smaller incisions that result in faster recovery time, shorter hospital stay, and less postoperative pain. We were among the first to use robotic-assisted surgery to treat cancers and diseases of the chest, and our surgeons are among the most experienced in the world in using these methods. Thoracic surgeons from around the world regularly come to NYU Langone to learn how to master these techniques.

Thoracic surgeries are usually complex, so our surgeons collaborate with pulmonologists and specialists in medical oncology, radiation oncology, and radiology from NYU Langone’s Perlmutter Cancer Center. Working together, your care team develops a treatment strategy targeted to your needs.

Innovators in Thoracic Care

We are leaders in research to find newer, better treatments for lung cancer and mesothelioma. We are currently exploring new treatments that combine surgery with chemotherapy and immunotherapy, and are part of a clinical trial to determine the effectiveness of radiation mesh that is surgically placed on the lungs to shrink cancerous growths.

We are also exploring advanced surgical technology, including single-port robotic-assisted surgery, which requires only one incision, and navigational bronchoscopy, which combines imaging and robotic-assisted surgery to precisely remove smaller nodules of affected tissue instead of larger sections of lung.

Excellence in Lung Cancer Surgery

NYU Langone has received a three-star rating from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons for lung cancer lobectomy and resection. This achievement, the highest rating possible, puts NYU Langone among the very best hospitals for general thoracic lung cancer surgery. In addition, our surgical team is one of the most experienced in the country, performing more surgeries than the national average. Our patients also go home sooner than average, with 90 percent of people who had lobectomy and 95 percent of people who had segmentectomy to remove a portion of the lung discharged within 24 hours.

Procedures We Perform

Our thoracic surgeons are leaders in the surgical treatment of non-small cell lung cancer, small cell lung cancer, lung metastases from other sites in the body, mesothelioma, chest wall tumors, and esophageal cancer, as well as all conditions that affect the chest area. These include emphysema, pulmonary fibrosis, hiatal hernia, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and tracheal stenosis.

Our doctors perform the following thoracic surgery procedures, in most cases using robotic-assisted techniques:

• resection—including lobectomy, segmentectomy, and airway and pulmonary artery sleeve resection, to remove part of the lung—and pneumonectomy, to remove an entire lung
• surgery to remove tumors that spread to the chest wall, including Pancoast tumors
• mediastinal tumor surgery
• esophageal cancer surgery and surgery for benign esophageal disease
• airway surgery, including treatment for tracheobronchomalacia, which causes the windpipe to soften and collapse, and surgery to remove tracheal tumors
• surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome including robotic-assisted first rib resection, through our Thoracic Outlet Syndrome Program
• lung volume reduction surgery to treat emphysema, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and other conditions that affect breathing
• pulmonary thromboendarterectomy surgery for chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension

We also use video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS), a minimally invasive surgical technique, to treat lung cancer or drain fluid around the heart and lungs.