Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeon

How Do You Know You Want to be a Cardiothoracic Surgeon? - American College  of Cardiology

Person who, as a medical specialist, corrects and treats, by means of surgery, congenital and acquired pathologies of the heart, pulmonary and coronary arteries, lungs, trachea and esophagus. She performs diagnostic tests to establish the need for surgery and assesses the risks of surgery. She determines the surgical methods to be used, gives instructions for preoperative examinations and care, and performs the procedure using appropriate techniques. In the case of transplants, she may be called upon to supervise the procedures to find a donor, to coordinate the surgical interventions performed on the latter and on the recipient as well as to carry out the transplant. She also prescribes the medications and postoperative care necessary for her patients’ recovery and provides periodic follow-up.

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