Medical Degree Program in China - Thoracic Surgery

Thoracic surgery is a medical discipline, devoted to the study of intrathoracic organs, mainly referring to the diagnosis and treatment of esophageal, lung and mediastinal lesions. Breast surgery has also been included in this program. Thoracic surgery focuses on pulmonary surgery and esophageal surgery.

 

 

Through reading, modern thoracic surgeons can understand the basic theory and treatment principle of various diseases of thoracic surgery within shorter time. There is also a need to achieve mastery through a comprehensive study of the theory and clinical practice, and the bridge connecting the two phases is cultivation and training of thoracic surgeons as well as keen observation ability and pioneering spirit.

Due to the improvement of professional requirements, thoracic surgery has been divided into general thoracic surgery, cardiac surgery, vascular surgery and pediatric cardiac surgery, which enables professional doctors to be more exquisite and thorough in the professional knowledge and skills, and the professional level is also improved. But this phenomenon also brings some other maladies, diagnosis and treatment of some complicated multi-organ mixed diseases will be ignored. In order to avoid this kind of situation, it is emphasized that in the initial stage of entering the thoracic surgery, the basic knowledge and basic skills training of general thoracic surgery and cardiac surgery should be paid attention to.

Thoracic surgery diseases often occur in life - related organs, such as the heart, lungs, and the treatment process often affects the stability of these organs function, thereby causing a threat to life. Therefore, thoracic surgeons shall be fully aware of the potential risk in the process of diagnosis and treatment of diseases; they should be fully aware of the mutual influence between vital organs, to retain the normal functions of diseased organs to the maximum extent and to disturb related important organs to the minimum extent. The knowledge in the field of thoracic surgery is expanding with people’s deepening understanding of diseases, and the mutual penetration with other disciplines has become more and more wide. Therefore, it is necessary for thoracic surgeons to keep constant learning, to constantly enrich them and lifelong learning is the only way to keep a high understanding of the disease for thoracic surgeons.

 

 

(1) lung disease: lung cancer (lung squamous cell carcinoma, lung adenocarcinoma, small cell carcinoma, lung metastasis tumor); pulmonary benign masses (leiomyoma of the lung, pulmonary tuberculoma, hamartoma, inflammatory pseudotumor, lipoma, hemangioma, etc.); pneumothorax; pulmonary bullae; chronic obstructive emphysema (pulmonary reduction surgery or lung transplantation); atelectasis; empyema; lung abscess; pulmonary tuberculosis; pulmonary cyst (congenital); middle lobe syndrome; pulmonary fungal disease.

(2) The trachea and bronchus disease: bronchiectasis; tracheal cyst; tracheal tumor, tracheal stenosis; benign tumor of bronchus.

(3) Pleural diseases: pleural mesothelioma; pleurisy; pleural tuberculosis; pleural effusion (blood).

(4) Esophagus diseases: esophageal carcinoma; esophageal benign tumors (leiomyoma); benign stricture of esophagus; cardia cancer; cardia achalasia; esophageal hiatal hernia; diverticulum of esophagus; esophageal polyp; esophageal varices.

(5) Mediastinal diseases: thymoma (including benign and malignant and borderline tumors); mediastinal cyst (such as pericardial cysts, parathyroid cyst, thymic cyst, lymphatic cyst, etc.); substernal goiter; teratoma, including benign and malignant); neurogenic tumors (more common in the posterior mediastinum, such as schwannomas, neuroblastoma, neurofibroma, ganglioneuroma, etc.); lipoma; mediastinal tuberculosis and so on.

(6) Chest wall diseases: rib tumor; intercostal neuralgia; costal chondritis; chest wall masses (such as lipoma, sebum gland cyst, hemangioma, hyperplasia of the breast mass); chest wall tuberculosis; chicken breast disease; pectus excavatum.

(7) Thoracic trauma; rib fracture, hemothorax; pneumothorax; lung injury, chest foreign matter.

(8) Other: such as hyperhidrosis, chylothorax, diaphragmatic hernia, diaphragmatic paralysis.