Cardiothoracic Surgery refers to operations that treat diseases affecting the heart (cardio) and lungs (thoracic).

Physicians in this specialty treat patients suffering from numerous diseases and illnesses, but some of the most common are mesothelioma, lung cancer, congenital heart disease, lung disease, pectus excavatum, thymoma, aortic aneurysm, cardiovascular disease, esophageal carcinoma, pulmonary metastases, chest wall tumors, esophageal diseases, tracheal tumors, malignant pleural effusions, and thoracic neoplasms.

Once properly diagnosed, practitioners can perform numerous procedures on patients including lobectomy, mediastinoscopy, mitral valve replacement, lung transplantation, ventricular assist device, lung volume reduction, aortic dissection, coronary artery bypass graft (cabg), coronary artery bypass surgery, mitral valve repair, heart transplantation, miniminally invasive surgery (mis), ventricular restoration (dor procedure), video-assisted thoracoscopy (vats), bullectomy, arrhythmia surgery, and thoracic aorta repairs.

To diagnose patients with possible illnesses and diseases, specialists will often perform one of many tests including biopsy, x-ray, magnetic resonance imaging (mri), electrocardiogram (ecg or ekg), upper gi (barium swallow), computed axial tomography (ct or cat scan), and physicial examination.

Doctor density varies by specialty and location. Alabama has 79 practicing cardiothoracic surgeons. Broken out by city, cardiothoracic surgery doctor density in Alabaster is 1, in Anniston is 1, in Birmingham is 33, in Dothan is 3, in Fairhope is 3, in Florence is 1, in Gadsden is 3, in Heflin is 1, in Huntsville is 3, in Jasper is 1, in Mobile is 15, in Montgomery is 12, in Opelika is 3, and in Tuscaloosa is 3.

Montgomery is the capital city of this southern state, though Birmingham is its largest city. Population in 2005 was 4,557,808. Alabama is the birthplace of historical figures Hank Aaron, Helen Keller, and George Washington Carver. Take an airboat tour on the Mobile river delta, see the Alabama Civil Rights museum in Mantua, or tour the Jazz Hall of Fame in Birmingham. Visit the Shakespeare Festival Theater Complex in Montgomery, or play a round of golf at one of Alabama’s many acclaimed courses. From the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in the state’s north to the Gulf coast beaches in the south, Alabama’s scenery includes a varied and diverse landscape.

According to 2005 Census estimates, Alabama has a population of 4,557,808. Of this population, 1,074,627 are under the age of 18 and 600,258 are at or above the age of 65.