The difference between thoracic medicine and thoracic surgery

We all know that the chest houses the most important organ of the human body, which is the human heart. Once there is a problem with the human heart, there is no surgery such as heart transplantation. Therefore, it is very important to protect the heart. People with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases often feel discomfort in the chest, so they will go to the hospital to see a thoracic doctor. So what is the difference between thoracic internal medicine and thoracic surgery?

Cardiovascular medicine belongs to the category of internal medicine, while cardiothoracic surgery also includes diseases of cardiac surgery and general thoracic surgery. The guide will explain them clearly to you when you see the doctor. There are too many types of diseases to list them one by one. If you can provide information on what disease you have, we will show you which department you should go to. Most of the current rankings are still in the scientific research field, which are not of much help to patients in their medical treatment.

Suggestions: If the surgery requires thoracotomy, then it belongs to thoracic surgery. If it does not require thoracotomy, such as pacemaker installation or interventional treatment, then it belongs to cardiovascular surgery.

There is not much difference between thoracic surgery and cardiothoracic surgery, except that the scope of the two is different. The former mainly treats chest diseases such as lung disease, esophageal disease, and mediastinal disease. The latter, in addition to the aforementioned, also includes heart disease. Due to the different divisions of hospitals, there is not much difference between the two.

The Department of Thoracic Surgery is mainly engaged in the repair of cardiac and great vessel injuries, surgical treatment of congenital heart disease, surgical treatment of valvular heart disease, cardiac tumors, interventional treatment of cardiac and great vessel diseases, surgical treatment of arrhythmias, cardiac pacing and implantable defibrillators, heart and lung transplantation, etc.

Suggestions: Cardiology is the exact opposite. It mainly uses conservative medical treatment, generally without surgery, and controls the onset of the disease through oral medication, improving the patient's symptoms and alleviating the condition.

Thoracic surgery is the department of choice for treating chest wall and lung diseases that require surgical treatment, such as chest fractures and lung space-occupying diseases. Cardiology is a department that uses drugs to conservatively treat heart diseases, including arrhythmias, myocarditis, various cardiomyopathies, myocardial infarction, coronary atherosclerotic heart disease, etc.

Suggestions: If you want to know more, it is recommended to refer to relevant professional books, such as those on surgery, internal medicine, cardiology, etc.