Division of Thoracic Surgery

Mass General has hosted numerous milestones in thoracic surgery, from pioneering esophageal resection for cancer in the 1930s to inventing novel techniques of tracheal reconstruction in the 1960s.

Home to one of the highest-volume lung surgery centers in the country, Mass General's lung surgeons are highly skilled in treating a wide spectrum of conditions, including lung cancer. Watch the video to learn about our outcomes for lung lobectomy, robotic surgery, transplant surgery and more.

Our rates of complication from esophagectomy for cancer are significantly lower than national average. Mass General also performs 60% of these operations with a minimally invasive technique.

Patients give high ratings to Mass General thoracic surgeons. Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems surveys ask patients to report on and evaluate their experiences with health care. In recent ratings, our surgeons have rated very high relative to the national average.

Mass General's outcomes are as expected, given the high number of very ill and extremely complex patients we serve, as compared to the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) norms. We have higher-acuity patients who arrive with severe illnesses and complex problems. Lower percentages are better.

Mass General's rates of complication from lobectomy for lung cancer are relatively low. We also performed 77% of our stage 1 lung cancer operations with a minimally invasive technique (VATS lobectomy).