2020 UAB Cardiovascular Institute Annual Report CVI Annual Report 2019-2020 6 | Page 28

Our thoracic surgeons have expertise encompassing all areas of general thoracic surgery, including both
open and minimally invasive approaches to treating lung cancer, esophageal cancer, and mediastinal tumors.
Additionally, UAB Medicine’s thoracic surgeons are experienced in the surgical treatment of benign conditions
such as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), paraesophageal hernias, achalasia, tracheal stenosis, chest wall
deformities, and hyperhidrosis. Endoscopic procedures performed by our thoracic surgeons include diagnostic
and therapeutic modalities such as airway and esophageal stenting, navigational bronchoscopy, and laser
ablation. UAB Medicine’s general thoracic surgical faculty have performed over 6,000 general thoracic surgery
procedures over the past 5 years.
ROBOTIC THORACIC PROCEDURES 2014-2018
THORACIC SURGERY
THORACIC ONCOLOGIC OPERATIONS
The O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB is a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive
cancer center. Our cancer services are routinely rated among the nation’s best.
UAB Medicine thoracic surgeons have extensive expertise in the surgical management of thoracic malignancies.
The breakdown for our thoracic oncologic operations is approximately 82.2% for lung cancer, 11.2% for
esophageal cancer, and 6.66% for mediastinal cancer.
Our surgeons are recognized as leaders in minimally invasive approaches to treat early-stage disease.
They specialize in complex procedures such as bilobectomies and sleeve resections, as well as pulmonary,
mediastinal, and esophageal resections after chemotherapy and/or radiation treatment. Extensive collaboration
with subspecialists through the thoracic tumor board offers a multidisciplinary approach to thoracic cancer
treatment. Specialists include thoracic surgeons, oncologists, pathologists, radiation oncologists, radiologists, and
pulmonary medicine specialists.
PULMONARY SURGERY
UAB Medicine thoracic surgeons performed over 400 lobectomies for the treatment of lung cancer between 2014 and
2018. Following surgery, patients are cared for in a dedicated thoracic unit, where we strive to continually refine our
management of post-operative patients. Focusing on quality improvement has allowed us to achieve excellent results in
patient care. The discharge mortality rate for lobectomies performed between 2014 and 2018 was 0.5%, which is below
the STS discharge mortality benchmark of 1.1%. Additionally, UAB Medicine’s median postoperative length of stay of 3
days is lower than the STS median of 4 days.
ROBOTIC THORACIC SURGERY
UAB Medicine’s robotic thoracic surgery program is one
of the largest and most robust of its kind in the world.
UAB Medicine is on the forefront of the development
of robotic approaches to treat a variety of malignant
and benign conditions. Our robotics experience
incorporates increasingly complex anatomic lung
resections, mediastinal operations, and esophagectomy
for cancer. In addition, we have extended our use of
robotics in surgical treatment for a variety of benign
esophageal conditions, such as paraesophageal hernias
and achalasia. UAB Medicine’s general thoracic surgical
faculty have performed over 1,100 robotic surgical
procedures during the past 5 years.
“UAB is one of the busiest robotic thoracic surgery
programs in the southeast. Robotic surgery allows
us to get the patients home and back to their normal
activities more quickly. Here, even complex operations
such as sleeve resections and esophagectomies can
be done robotically, with significant benefits in terms
of postoperative pain and recovery.”
– Benjamin Wei, MD
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UAB Cardiovascular Institute Annual Report
Lobectomy for Lung Cancer Composite Rating
HH
Esophagectomy Composite Quality Rating
HH
UAB PARTICIPANT
SCORE *STS MEAN
PARTICIPANT SCORE STS COMPOSITE
QUALITY RATING
98.4% 98.0% Not statistically different
than the STS mean
86.8% 89.5% Not statistically different
than the STS mean
Source: STS benchmarks STS General Thoracic Surgery Database Spring Harvest 2019, period ended 12/31/2018
ESOPHAGEAL SURGERY
UAB Medicine thoracic surgeons perform a variety of esophageal operations for benign and malignant disorders of the
esophagus. Both open and robotic approaches are utilized for esophagectomy in the management of esophageal cancer.
The UAB Division of Thoracic Surgery is well-suited to manage all forms of benign esophageal disease, including
gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), achalasia, and paraesophageal hernias. In addition, we are the only medical
center in Alabama performing Stretta therapy, which is an endoscopic method of treating GERD.
MEDIASTINAL SURGERY
Mediastinal procedures are performed to both diagnose and treat mediastinal conditions including thymomas, neurogenic
tumors, bronchogenic cysts, and lymphomas. We also work closely with colleagues in neurology to perform thymectomies
for patients with myasthenia gravis. As with our lung and esophageal programs, robotic approaches are commonly utilized
for these procedures.
uabmedicine.org
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