Greetings
The Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery consists of Cardiovascular Surgery for cardiovascular diseases involving the heart and blood vessels, and Thoracic Surgery for diseases of the lungs, mediastinum and thorax.Cardiovascular Surgery handles acquired heart diseases (ischemic heart disease, valvular disease), congenital heart diseases, large vessel diseases, peripheral vascular diseases and other cardiovascular diseases. We see people of all ages from newborn babies to people in the oldest-old range.
The motto of our class is to provide medical care from the viewpoint of the patient, assure the highest level of knowledge on available treatments, and improve our skills to the highest possible level.
At Thoracic Surgery, patients with malignant diseases including lung cancer undergo surgery.
We perform a broad range of surgical procedures from minimally invasive surgery using a thoracoscope to extended surgery for refractory cancer.
Outline
Medical care system
Our department is divided into two teams: Cardiovascular Surgery and Thoracic Surgery.The two teams cooperate to provide medical care for refractory diseases, which makes it possible to handle diseases that are difficult to handle at other facilities.
Basically, we consider surgery of cases referred to the outpatient clinic or requested by related clinical departments.
Patients are hospitalized in ward 8-2 on the eighth floor.
Each patient is taken care of by a clinical group of several staff members and the attending doctor. For refractory diseases, we cooperate with the related clinical departments in the hospital as needed to make a diagnosis and provide treatment.
Treatment policy
At Cardiovascular Surgery, we handle diverse diseases ranging from life-threatening acute diseases to chronic diseases affecting the quality of life (QOL), and perform surgical treatment in cooperation with the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine and the Department of Pediatrics.As a core hospital for cardiovascular surgery in Hokkaido, we handle a broad range of surgical procedures from standard surgery to advanced surgical treatments, including heart transplant and artificial heart-related operations, and provide medical care for complicated diseases that are difficult to handle at other hospitals while seeking the best therapy through discussions within our department and with other departments.
Regarding malignant neoplastic diseases handled at Thoracic Surgery, we select appropriate therapy through conferences with the Departments of Internal Medicine specializing in respiratory organs, Radiology and Medical Oncology, depending on the situation.
We perform minimally invasive surgical procedures, including thoracoscopic surgery and pulmonary segmentectomy, for early-stage lung cancer and benign diseases, for which treatment techniques have been established, and extended resection, such as composite resections and bronchoplasty, and multidisciplinary therapy for advanced lung cancer, etc.
Areas of medical care
Cardiovascular Surgery- Ischemic heart diseases
Coronary artery bypass and ventricular reduction procedures are performed for angina pectoris and cardiac infarction resulting from diseases of the coronary arteries that supply nutrients to the heart, as well as for ensuing heart failure and valvular disease. - Valvular heart disease
Valve replacement and valvuloplasty are performed for heart failure resulting from narrowing and closure insufficiency of a valve. - Congenital heart diseases
Surgical treatment of congenital structural cardiac abnormalities (atrial septal defect, ventricular septum defect and complex cardiac anomaly) is performed. - Aortic diseases (chest, thoracicoabdominal part, abdomen)
Blood vessel prosthesis implantation is performed for aortic diseases, such as aortic dissection and aortic aneurysms. Lately, endovascular therapy (stent-graft), a less invasive treatment, is also actively performed. - Peripheral vascular diseases
Surgical treatment of arterial diseases, including arteriosclerosis obliterans and Buerger disease, and venous diseases such as varicose veins is performed. - Serious heart failure
Our hospital is certified as a facility for heart transplants and implantable auxiliary artificial hearts. Surgical treatment is performed for acute myocarditis, which is regarded as the limit of medical treatment, and serious heart failure resulting from dilated cardiomyopathy. - Other diseases
Surgical treatment is performed for cardiac tumors, infectious endocarditis and other diseases.
- Lung cancer
Thoracoscopic surgery is performed for nearly 90% of patients. Unlike thoracotomy, it is not necessary to cut the ribs, so a smooth recovery can be expected. For cancer with a low risk of metastasis and recurrence, partial pneumonectomy and segmentectomy are performed to save the respiratory function. For advanced lung cancer, surgery may be performed after the cancer has been shrunk by anticancer drugs and radiation. - Metastatic lung tumor
Thoracoscopic surgery may be performed even for cases with metastases in both lungs and for cases with multiple metastatic lesions. - Mediastinal tumor
A thoracoscope is widely used during surgery for thymoma, thymic carcinoma, teratoma and cystic tumors. - Malignant pleural mesothelioma
Extrapleural pneumonectomy, resection of the entire lung on the one side, has been performed until now, but from now on, lung-conserving pleural resection will also be performed as needed. - Pediatric congenital lung diseases
Surgery using a thin thoracoscope is performed for pediatric patients with pulmonary sequestration and congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation (CCAM). - Other diseases
Surgical treatment is performed for chest wall tumors, spontaneous pneumothorax, thoracic empyema, thoracic injury, etc.
