Other Thoracic Surgeries

Diaphragm Plication

Your diaphragm is a muscle that separates your thorax (chest) and abdomen. It helps you breathe by giving your lungs space to expand. If your diaphragm is the wrong shape or becomes paralyzed, you may need surgery. Our thoracic surgeons offer open and minimally invasive robotic diaphragm plication. During this procedure, surgeons stitch the diaphragm to repair or tighten the area that’s no longer working properly.

Mediastinal Mass Resection or Biopsy

Mediastinal masses are tumors that form in the chest between the lungs. Some mediastinal masses are cancerous. Our skilled thoracic surgeons perform biopsies (tissue or fluid removal) to analyze mediastinal masses. We also remove mediastinal masses through surgical resection.

Pleurodesis

Pleurodesis is a surgery that permanently seals the space between the lung’s outer lining and the chest wall’s inner lining. It can help treat a collapsed lung (pneumothorax) or reduce fluid build-up around the lungs (pleural effusion).

Surgery for Trapped Lung

“Trapped lung" is when the lung cannot expand because there is a thick, fibrous layer on its surface. Several conditions can cause trapped lung, including tuberculosis, rheumatoid arthritis and a lung infection called empyema. When medicine and other treatments don’t release a trapped lung, surgery can provide relief.

Sympathectomy

People who experience excessive sweating (hyperhidrosis) may benefit from a sympathectomy. In this surgical procedure, we remove a portion of the sympathetic nerve. This nerve runs down the back and inside the chest.

Thymectomy

Your thymus gland is a gland near your heart that produces white blood cells. These cells help your body fight infection. If your thymus gland doesn’t work right, you can develop a condition called myasthenia gravis. This autoimmune disorder causes muscle weakness. Emory thoracic surgeons offer thymectomy (thymus removal) to treat myasthenia gravis. We also perform thymectomy to treat thymus cancer (thymoma).