The mediastinum is an area in the chest located between the lungs in the middle of your thoracic cavity. Residing inside the mediastinum are the heart, aorta, esophagus, trachea, lymph nodes, and a small organ called the thymus. In rare cases, abnormal cells can develop in the mediastinum and a mass forms. This is known [...]
At CTVS, our thoracic surgeons treat conditions affecting the esophagus including the most serious issue – esophageal cancer – and benign foregut disease like acid reflux (or GERD) and achalasia. What is GERD? GERD stands for gastroesophageal reflux disease, or more commonly acid reflux, and refers to the occurrence of stomach acid routinely flowing backwards [...]
At CTVS, our team of board-certified thoracic surgeons routinely perform a procedure known as a thoracic sympathectomy to treat hyperhidrosis, or excessive sweating. During this surgery, part of the sympathetic chain of nerves that runs along the spine is carefully severed to halt signals that trigger the sweat glands. Now, thoracic sympathectomy is increasingly being [...]
Board-certified thoracic surgeon, Dr. Rachel Medbery, treats a condition known as pectus excavatum, a chest wall deformity that causes a person’s breastbone to sink inward. It’s also referred to ‘funnel chest’ and is more common in boys than girls. Pectus deformities are the most common chest wall defect and occur in approximately 1 of every 150-1,000 [...]
The American Cancer Society expects that roughly 20,000 new cases of esophageal cancer will be diagnosed this year. Many of those cases will prove fatal if not detected and treated early. As April is Esophageal Cancer Awareness Month, CTVS urges everyone to become educated about the symptoms associated with this devastating, but treatable disease. The [...]
Sweating is normal, and it helps the body release heat and cool itself. But some people sweat excessively, beyond warm temperatures and their environmental surroundings whether they are exerting energy or not. This condition is known as hyperhidrosis. Hyperhidrosis may be the result of stress or a genetic factor and is triggered by the body’s [...]
Robotic surgery is becoming more and more mainstream in operating rooms. This technology is used for everything from having your gallbladder removed, a hysterectomy or prostatectomy, or a hernia repair, to lung and esophageal surgery. CTVS has been treating thoracic disorders (those occurring between the abdomen and the neck) for more than 50 years and [...]
Esophageal cancer can be a) very rare, b) sometimes fatal, or c) successfully treated if found early. All of the above are correct here. The American Cancer Society estimates that more than 19,000 new cases of esophageal cancer will be diagnosed this year, and from those, nearly 15,000 unfortunately could prove fatal. With April being [...]
Kay Garcia McAnally and her husband, Conor, have been married 30 years. They're avid travelers and go to Europe twice a year where they have a second home in Ireland. So when Kay was sidelined due to her serious condition -- an elevated diaphragm -- they were both devastated. An elevated diaphragm occurs when one [...]
When COVID-19 arrived in Austin and our lives were shuttered in mid-March, it was not just work, school and socializing that were put on hold. Important surgeries and many medical procedures that did not meet a very specific criteria were also postponed. Imagine being a patient needing life-saving surgery for cancer and the stress and [...]
