San Diego, California is home to 26 practicing cardiothoracic surgeons who have offices in 1 county and 5 zip codes, including zip codes 92103, 92123, 92134, 92120, and 92115.

According to 2005 Census estimates, San Diego has a population of 1,255,540, which gives it a specialist to resident ratio of 1 cardiothoracic surgeon for every 48,290 residents.

California’s population is 36,142,137, and it is America’s third largest and most populous state. It also claims the highest and lowest altitudes in the lower 48 states. The lowest point in the country, Death Valley, is also home to the nation’s highest recorded temperature, 134 degrees. Tourists flock to this state for its many outdoor activities and attractions, including Universal Studios, Disneyland, Rodeo Drive shopping, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, wine country tours, and California’s numerous beaches and parks. Los Angeles is the nation’s second largest city, but California’s capital is Sacramento. The giant sequoias in California’s forests are among the oldest living things in the world, and a redwood in the Redwood National Park is said to be the world’s tallest tree, at 365 feet. California achieved statehood in 1850, and was named the Golden State after the beginning of the Gold Rush in 1848.

According to 2005 Census estimates, California has a population of 36,132,147. Of this population, 9,308,563 are under the age of 18 and 3,827,038 are at or above the age of 65.

Description

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

Diseases / Illnesses Treated

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.

Procedures Performed

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.

Tests Performed

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.