Q: What Does a Cardiac Surgeon Treat?

Cardiac surgeons can treat any disease, condition or injury that requires surgery to repair or correct. This can include anything from trauma — like a car crash, stab wound or gunshot — to correcting heart damage from a disease or a condition a person had when they were born. Some of the most common conditions that require a cardiac surgeon include: Heart valve diseases. Heart rhythm disorders (arrhythmias). Heart failure. Aortic dissection. Congenital heart problems like holes between heart chambers, including ventricular septal defect and atrial septal defect.

Q: Why See a Cardiac Surgeon and What Should I Expect?

Heart surgery is typically a very serious procedure. It is most often done when there are no better alternatives — meaning no other procedure is as safe and likely to help you. In many cases, you’ll have time in advance to learn about the type of heart surgery you’ll need, what to expect, how to prepare and more. In rarer emergency cases, you may need immediate heart surgery without any delay. In those instances, a surgeon will talk to your family, loved ones or any person who can speak and make medical decisions for you. The surgeon will do all they can to help your loved ones understand what is happening, why you need surgery and what to expect.

Question 1

What Is Cardiac Surgery?

Accepted Answer

Cardiac surgery is any surgical procedure performed on your heart or any related blood vessels near where they connect to the heart.

These surgeries may involve the tissues or structures immediately next to the heart in some cases.

Question 2

What Is a Cardiothoracic Surgeon?

Accepted Answer

A cardiothoracic surgeon is a medical doctor who specializes in surgical procedures of the heart, lungs, esophagus, and other organs in the chest.

This includes surgeons who can be called cardiac surgeons, cardiovascular surgeons, general thoracic surgeons, and congenital heart surgeons.

Question 3

What Does a Cardiothoracic Surgeon Do?

Accepted Answer

The roles of a cardiothoracic surgeon are many, depending on their level of training. In a typical setting, a cardiothoracic surgeon performs the following functions:

Detects diseases of the thoracic organs
Operates on diseases of the lungs, chest, esophagus and heart
Performs surgeries on collapsed or damaged thoracic organs
Repairs chest wall deformities
Treats leaking or blocked heart valves
Operates on an abnormal enlargement of the arteries
Monitors patients in intensive care<
Prescribes medications for post-operative care

Question 4

What Does a Cardiac Surgeon Treat?

Accepted Answer

Cardiac surgeons can treat any disease, condition or injury that requires surgery to repair or correct. This can include anything from trauma — like a car crash, stab wound or gunshot — to correcting heart damage from a disease or a condition a person had when they were born. Some of the most common conditions that require a cardiac surgeon include:

Heart valve diseases.
Heart rhythm disorders (arrhythmias).
Heart failure.
Aortic dissection.
Congenital heart problems like holes between heart chambers, including ventricular septal defect and atrial septal defect.

Question 5

Why See a Cardiac Surgeon and What Should I Expect?

Accepted Answer

Heart surgery is typically a very serious procedure. It is most often done when there are no better alternatives — meaning no other procedure is as safe and likely to help you.

In many cases, you’ll have time in advance to learn about the type of heart surgery you’ll need, what to expect, how to prepare and more.

In rarer emergency cases, you may need immediate heart surgery without any delay. In those instances, a surgeon will talk to your family, loved ones or any person who can speak and make medical decisions for you. The surgeon will do all they can to help your loved ones understand what is happening, why you need surgery and what to expect.

Top 30 Heart & Lung Cardiothoracic Surgeons in Melbourne (2024)

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Lung Surgeons

Top 30 Heart & Lung Cardiothoracic Surgeons in Melbourne (2024)

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