Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Cardiothoracic surgery
Cardiothoracic (CT) surgery is the field of medicine involved in surgical treatment of organs inside the thoracic cavity — generally treatment of conditions of the heart (heart disease), lungs (lung disease), and other pleural or mediastinal structures.
In most countries, cardiothoracic surgery is further subspecialized into cardiac surgery (involving the heart and the great vessels) and thoracic surgery (involving the lungs, esophagus, thymus, etc.); the exceptions are the United States, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, India and some European Union countries such as Portugal.
A cardiac surgery residency typically comprises anywhere from four to six years (or longer) of training to become a fully qualified surgeon. Cardiac surgery training may be combined with thoracic surgery and/or vascular surgery and called cardiovascular (CV) / cardiothoracic (CT) / cardiovascular thoracic (CVT) surgery. Cardiac surgeons may enter a cardiac surgery residency directly from medical school, or first complete a general surgery residency followed by a fellowship. Cardiac surgeons may further sub-specialize cardiac surgery by doing a fellowship in a variety of topics including pediatric cardiac surgery, cardiac transplantation, adult-acquired heart disease, weak heart issues, and many more problems in the heart.[citation needed]
The highly competitive Surgical Education and Training (SET) program in Cardiothoracic Surgery is six years in duration, usually commencing several years after completing medical school. Training is administered and supervised via a bi-national (Australia and New Zealand) training program. Multiple examinations take place throughout the course of training, culminating in a final fellowship exam in the final year of training. Upon completion of training, surgeons are awarded a Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (FRACS), denoting that they are qualified specialists. Trainees having completed a training program in General Surgery and have obtained their FRACS will have the option to complete fellowship training in Cardiothoracic Surgery of four years in duration, subject to college approval. It takes around eight to ten years minimum of post-graduate (post-medical school) training to qualify as a cardiothoracic surgeon. Competition for training places and for public (teaching) hospital places is very high currently, leading to concerns regarding workforce planning in Australia.[citation needed]
Historically, cardiac surgeons in Canada completed general surgery followed by a fellowship in CV / CT / CVT. During the 1990s, the Canadian cardiac surgery training programs changed to six-year "direct-entry" programs following medical school. The direct-entry format provides residents with experience related to cardiac surgery they would not receive in a general surgery program (e.g. echocardiography, coronary care unit, cardiac catheterization etc.). Residents in this program will also spend time training in thoracic and vascular surgery. Typically, this is followed by a fellowship in either Adult Cardiac Surgery, Heart Failure/Transplant, Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery, Aortic Surgery, Thoracic Surgery, Pediatric Cardiac Surgery or Cardiac ICU. Contemporary Canadian candidates completing general surgery and wishing to pursue cardiac surgery often complete a cardiothoracic surgery fellowship in the United States. The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada also provides a three-year cardiac surgery fellowship for qualified general surgeons that is offered at several training sites including the University of Alberta, the University of British Columbia and the University of Toronto.[citation needed]
Thoracic surgery is its own separate 2–3 year fellowship of general or cardiac surgery in Canada.
Cardiac surgery programs in Canada:[citation needed]
Cardiac surgery training in the United States is combined with general thoracic surgery and called cardiothoracic surgery or thoracic surgery. A cardiothoracic surgeon in the U.S. is a physician who first completes a general surgery residency (typically 5–7 years), followed by a cardiothoracic surgery fellowship (typically 2–3 years). The cardiothoracic surgery fellowship typically spans two or three years, but certification is based on the number of surgeries performed as the operating surgeon, not the time spent in the program, in addition to passing rigorous board certification tests. Two other pathways to shorten the duration of training have been developed: (1) a combined general-thoracic surgery residency consisting of four years of general surgery training and three years of cardiothoracic training at the same institution and (2) an integrated six-year cardiothoracic residency (in place of the general surgery residency plus cardiothoracic residency), which have each been established at many programs (over 20). Applicants match into the integrated six-year (I-6) programs directly out of medical school, and the application process has been extremely competitive for these positions as there were approximately 160 applicants for 10 spots in the U.S. in 2010. As of May 2013, there are 20 approved programs, which include the following:
Hub AI
Cardiothoracic surgery AI simulator
(@Cardiothoracic surgery_simulator)
Cardiothoracic surgery
Cardiothoracic (CT) surgery is the field of medicine involved in surgical treatment of organs inside the thoracic cavity — generally treatment of conditions of the heart (heart disease), lungs (lung disease), and other pleural or mediastinal structures.
In most countries, cardiothoracic surgery is further subspecialized into cardiac surgery (involving the heart and the great vessels) and thoracic surgery (involving the lungs, esophagus, thymus, etc.); the exceptions are the United States, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, India and some European Union countries such as Portugal.
A cardiac surgery residency typically comprises anywhere from four to six years (or longer) of training to become a fully qualified surgeon. Cardiac surgery training may be combined with thoracic surgery and/or vascular surgery and called cardiovascular (CV) / cardiothoracic (CT) / cardiovascular thoracic (CVT) surgery. Cardiac surgeons may enter a cardiac surgery residency directly from medical school, or first complete a general surgery residency followed by a fellowship. Cardiac surgeons may further sub-specialize cardiac surgery by doing a fellowship in a variety of topics including pediatric cardiac surgery, cardiac transplantation, adult-acquired heart disease, weak heart issues, and many more problems in the heart.[citation needed]
The highly competitive Surgical Education and Training (SET) program in Cardiothoracic Surgery is six years in duration, usually commencing several years after completing medical school. Training is administered and supervised via a bi-national (Australia and New Zealand) training program. Multiple examinations take place throughout the course of training, culminating in a final fellowship exam in the final year of training. Upon completion of training, surgeons are awarded a Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (FRACS), denoting that they are qualified specialists. Trainees having completed a training program in General Surgery and have obtained their FRACS will have the option to complete fellowship training in Cardiothoracic Surgery of four years in duration, subject to college approval. It takes around eight to ten years minimum of post-graduate (post-medical school) training to qualify as a cardiothoracic surgeon. Competition for training places and for public (teaching) hospital places is very high currently, leading to concerns regarding workforce planning in Australia.[citation needed]
Historically, cardiac surgeons in Canada completed general surgery followed by a fellowship in CV / CT / CVT. During the 1990s, the Canadian cardiac surgery training programs changed to six-year "direct-entry" programs following medical school. The direct-entry format provides residents with experience related to cardiac surgery they would not receive in a general surgery program (e.g. echocardiography, coronary care unit, cardiac catheterization etc.). Residents in this program will also spend time training in thoracic and vascular surgery. Typically, this is followed by a fellowship in either Adult Cardiac Surgery, Heart Failure/Transplant, Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery, Aortic Surgery, Thoracic Surgery, Pediatric Cardiac Surgery or Cardiac ICU. Contemporary Canadian candidates completing general surgery and wishing to pursue cardiac surgery often complete a cardiothoracic surgery fellowship in the United States. The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada also provides a three-year cardiac surgery fellowship for qualified general surgeons that is offered at several training sites including the University of Alberta, the University of British Columbia and the University of Toronto.[citation needed]
Thoracic surgery is its own separate 2–3 year fellowship of general or cardiac surgery in Canada.
Cardiac surgery programs in Canada:[citation needed]
Cardiac surgery training in the United States is combined with general thoracic surgery and called cardiothoracic surgery or thoracic surgery. A cardiothoracic surgeon in the U.S. is a physician who first completes a general surgery residency (typically 5–7 years), followed by a cardiothoracic surgery fellowship (typically 2–3 years). The cardiothoracic surgery fellowship typically spans two or three years, but certification is based on the number of surgeries performed as the operating surgeon, not the time spent in the program, in addition to passing rigorous board certification tests. Two other pathways to shorten the duration of training have been developed: (1) a combined general-thoracic surgery residency consisting of four years of general surgery training and three years of cardiothoracic training at the same institution and (2) an integrated six-year cardiothoracic residency (in place of the general surgery residency plus cardiothoracic residency), which have each been established at many programs (over 20). Applicants match into the integrated six-year (I-6) programs directly out of medical school, and the application process has been extremely competitive for these positions as there were approximately 160 applicants for 10 spots in the U.S. in 2010. As of May 2013, there are 20 approved programs, which include the following: