What is a Cardiothoracic surgery?

Introduction

Medical jargon is one of the toughest codes to crack. Some technical and operative terms can confuse you to frustrating levels. While the Google search bar has certainly made life easy, it is worth knowing about some of the common medical procedures in detail like “What is Cardiothoracic Surgery. Take the example of cardiothoracic surgeries. What is cardiothoracic surgery? What pops up in your mind first, when you hear this term? It can mean several things to a layman. But in reality, it refers to only one operative procedure. What does the term cardiothoracic mean? What happens in a surgical procedure of this nature? This and a bit about cardiothoracic surgeons, in general, is what that forms the subject matter of our today’s discussion.

Cardiothoracic meaning

Before we talk about cardiothoracic surgery in detail, we must understand the term in the first place. Cardiothoracic refers to the surgical treatment of the organs located in the thoracic i.e. chest cavity. Primarily, these organs include the heart and lungs.

Now, with this knowledge in our possession, let us have a look at the finer details of this surgical procedure.

What happens in cardiothoracic surgery?

First step? Applying anesthesia, of course. Once the patient is put under anesthesia, a breathing tube is inserted to keep the lungs inflated during the operation. Then, the next step is that of incision creation. Usually, one to three incisions are made, and through this incision(s), the video camera or robotic equipment is inserted to assist the surgeon. Once the damaged tissues are removed, a draining tube is inserted into the chest for the re-inflation purposes.

Risks associated with cardiothoracic surgery

Like any other surgical procedure, there are going to be risks associated with cardiothoracic surgery as well. While the patient doesn’t feel anything during the surgery as he or she is under anesthesia mostly, the pain felt later can be because of various reasons. The most illuminating ones are bleeding, n infection, or in some instances, air leakage from the lungs. However, you don’t have to worry about much if you are putting yourself in the hands of a competent cardiothoracic surgeon. You should check the career profile of your surgeon, and to do that properly, you must know in the first place, a cardiothoracic surgeon’s education!

How to become a cardiothoracic surgeon?

In this section, we are going to outline the route that one must take to become a qualified cardiothoracic surgeon. This first step is to obtain a bachelor’s degree that focuses on biology as a major subject. Then, the next step in becoming a cardiothoracic surgeon is to attend a medical school. The medical school must give a scholar a chance to spend two years in the classroom and two in the clinic. Thus, a four-year medical school experience is one of the pre-requisites that must be met. Then follows a period of general surgery residency that must be at least five years, if not more. And lastly, a cardiothoracic surgery residency. This is the last and final step, which takes at least two to three years. All in all, it is at least 15 years of grind!

Cardiothoracic surgeon v cardiologists

An interesting perspective, and something that a lot of people tend to confuse. Do cardiothoracic surgeons and cardiologists have the same roles? Not. A cardiologist’s role is to diagnose the woes of the heart. Then, based on their interpretations and findings, cardiothoracic surgeons conduct the operation. But that doesn’t mean that a cardiologist cannot work together with a cardiothoracic surgeon. There are certain cases in which both these professionals can work together to treat problems like arrhythmias.

Cost of a cardiothoracic surgery UK, USA, and Pakistan

The cost of thoracic surgeries is tremendously higher than the other common surgical procedures. It can be as high as $22,000 in some cases. But then again, there are a lot of factors that influence the final price of thoracic surgery. These include the quality of the treatment, the experience of the surgeon conducting the operation, equipment used, and the post-surgery recovery expenditures. All in all, it is a costly surgical procedure and we don’t mind telling you that there are people who cannot afford surgeries like these, at all. The cost of cardiothoracic surgery in the UK, Pakistan, and the USA is well out of reach of the underprivileged members of society.

Fund a cardiothoracic surgery at Transparent Hands

If the cost of cardiothoracic surgery has stunned you, here is a fine way of relieving you from this shock. Why don’t you help someone get a cardiothoracic surgery that they cannot afford? And if the giving bug gets you, what better place to donate than Transparent Hands! 

When it comes to crowdfunding for health, there is no platform bigger than Transparent Hands in Pakistan. The range of healthcare services offered by Transparent Hands is astoundingly vast. From medical and surgical treatments to medical camps and telehealth facilities, the NGO makes sure that the underprivileged Pakistanis have access to quality healthcare services. The NGO believes in creating a patient-donor bond while making sure that the protocols of transparency aren’t breached at any point. The NGO realizes the need for free medical camps in the rural areas, hence it actively sets up such camps as well. To donate, donors can log in to the Transparent Hands crowdfunding web portal from anywhere in the world. Payment modes are one hundred percent secure. Every donor has absolute freedom in selecting and funding patients of their choice. The NGO makes sure that regular updates until complete recovery are sent to the concerned donor.

Conclusion

Well, folks, that would be all for now. Of course, we couldn’t even hope to discuss everything about cardiothoracic surgeries in this short space and time. Nevertheless, we do hope that you learned something, if not everything, from this discussion. There are different ways of understanding a topic, we wanted to link surgery with the surgeon! For more such articles, keep visiting this place and page. Cheers and goodbye till the next time! 

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