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Cardiothoracic Surgery guides
20 plain-English, evidence-linked guides in Cardiothoracic Surgery, with clinical review status shown on each page.
Aortic valve replacement (Surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR))Open-heart surgery to replace a worn or narrowed aortic valve with a mechanical or tissue valve, so blood can flow freely out of the heart again.Cardiac ablation (Catheter ablation for cardiac arrhythmia)A procedure that uses thin tubes passed into the heart to treat the small areas causing an abnormal heart rhythm, using heat or freezing energy.Defibrillator (ICD) fitting (Implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) insertion)An implanted device that watches for a dangerous fast heart rhythm and delivers a shock or pacing to restore a normal beat, used to reduce the risk of sudden cardiac death.Heart bypass surgery (Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG))A major heart operation that uses a blood vessel from your chest, leg or arm to carry blood around narrowed coronary arteries, easing angina and lowering the risk of a heart attack.Heart valve surgery (Heart valve repair or replacement surgery)An overview of surgery to repair or replace a faulty heart valve, covering which valves are affected, repair versus replacement, valve choices and what recovery involves.Hole in the heart repair (ASD / PFO closure) (Transcatheter closure of atrial septal defect (ASD) or patent foramen ovale (PFO))A keyhole procedure to close a small hole between the two upper chambers of the heart using a device passed up from a vein in the groin.Keyhole lung surgery (VATS) (Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS))A keyhole way of operating inside the chest using a camera and small cuts, used for many lung operations instead of opening the chest with a large incision.Lung cancer surgery (Surgical resection for lung cancer (lobectomy and related operations))An operation to remove the part of the lung containing a cancer, along with nearby lymph nodes, usually aiming to remove early-stage lung cancer completely.Lung removal surgery (lobectomy) (Lung resection (lobectomy))An operation to remove a lobe of the lung (or sometimes a smaller or larger part), most often to remove a lung cancer or other diseased tissue.Mitral valve repair (Mitral valve repair surgery)Heart surgery that fixes a leaky or faulty mitral valve using your own valve tissue, rather than replacing it, so the valve seals properly again.Mitral valve replacement (Mitral valve replacement surgery)Open-heart surgery to replace a faulty mitral valve with a mechanical or tissue valve, used when the valve is too damaged to repair.Pacemaker fitting (Permanent pacemaker implantation)A small implanted device that sends electrical signals to keep your heartbeat from going too slow, used mainly for heart block and slow heart rhythms.Pectus correction (sunken or protruding chest) (Pectus excavatum / carinatum correction)Treatment to correct a chest wall that is sunken in (pectus excavatum) or pushed out (pectus carinatum), ranging from non-surgical bracing to surgery in selected cases.Pericardial window / drainage (Pericardial window and pericardial drainage (pericardiocentesis))Procedures to drain fluid from the sac around the heart (the pericardium) and, in a pericardial window, to create a lasting opening so fluid can drain away rather than build up again.Pleural surgery and pleurodesis (Pleural surgery / pleurodesis)Procedures on the lining of the lung to stop fluid or air building up around it, including pleurodesis (sealing the space) and removing or sampling the lining.Removal of a chest (mediastinal) tumour (Removal of mediastinal tumour)An operation to remove a growth in the mediastinum — the central part of the chest between the lungs — which may be done to treat it, to obtain a diagnosis, or both.TAVI (keyhole aortic valve replacement) (Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI))A catheter-based procedure that fits a new aortic valve through a blood vessel, usually in the groin, without open-heart surgery — mainly for people for whom surgery is higher risk.Thoracic aortic aneurysm repair (Repair of thoracic aortic aneurysm (open surgery or TEVAR))An operation to repair a weakened, bulging section of the main artery in the chest (the aorta) to lower the risk of it tearing or bursting.Thymus removal (Thymectomy)An operation to remove the thymus gland from the front of the chest, usually for a thymus tumour (thymoma) or to help control myasthenia gravis.Wedge resection of the lung (Wedge resection of lung (sublobar resection))An operation to remove a small wedge-shaped piece of lung, often to take out or diagnose a nodule while keeping as much healthy lung as possible.
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