UMM logo

Thoracic Surgery Division

The Thoracic Surgery Division at the University of Maryland Medical Center is nationally recognized for developing innovative treatments for disorders of the structures and organs of the chest, particularly the lungs and esophagus. Through novel teaching and research programs for these areas, the Division finds ways to improve the quality of patient's lives.

It has played a leading role in the development and use of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery, which is much less invasive and involves fewer complications than traditional surgery.

The Division works to improve quality of life for people with emphysema through the Emphysema Program, which it started in 1994. More than 700 patients have been evaluated here and then treated through a rehabilitation program or lung volume reduction surgery.

The Division has received national recognition for its results with this surgery. In fact, in 1997 it was selected by the National Institutes of Health to participate in a large-scale clinical trial that will compare surgical versus nonsurgical treatment for emphysema (MD-NETT Trial).

The results of the NETT Study -- which were published in the May 22, 2003 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine -- indicate that, on average, patients who undergo LVRS with medical therapy are more likely to function better after two years and do not face an increased risk of death compared to those who receive medical therapy only.

The Division offers surgical management for a variety of conditions that affect the lungs and thoracic cavity -- including lung and esophageal cancer -- using minimally invasive approaches whenever possible. In fact, we were one of the first programs in the United States to develop and use video-assisted thoracoscopy, which allows surgeons to complete procedures through small incisions, usually made between the ribs. The recovery period is much shorter and the risk for complications much lower than with standard open thoracic surgical procedures.

Faculty of the Thoracic Surgery Division also staff the Thoracic Oncology Program of the University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center, where they use a new technique called thoracoscopic surgical staging and other innovative surgical procedures to evaluate and treat cancers of the lung and esophagus.


This page was last updated on: May 20, 2008.

For more information or to schedule a consultation in our clinic, please contact us at 410-328-6366 or fax 410-328-0693.