Department of Thoracic Surgery Archive

January 24, 2022

Donna Atherton and Karen Pinkard are nurses who have worked together for years. The day Karen’s heart stopped at work, Donna was there to save her life.

A lot of people worked to save her life and help her recover. Thanks to them, Karen Pinkard is back at work.

By Tom Wilemon
October 14, 2021

New Clinician Spotlight: Caitlin Demarest

Caitlin Demarest, MD, PhD, recently joined the Department of Thoracic Surgery as an assistant professor, having been recruited to Vanderbilt by her mentor, Matthew Bacchetta, MD, MBA.

By VUMC News and Communications
Zach Lloyd spent 95 days on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, or ECMO, after contracting COVID-19.
April 1, 2021

COVID recovery included long stay on ECMO, double-lung transplant

Zach Lloyd was only 37 years old with no pre-existing health conditions, but COVID-19 was bringing him within an inch of his life.

By Matt Batcheldor
March 18, 2021

Vanderbilt research played key role in new lung screen guidelines

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has formally recommended two changes that will nearly double the number of people eligible for lung cancer screening by lowering the age from 55 to 50 and reducing the number of smoking history pack years from 30 to 20.

By Tom Wilemon
November 18, 2020

Collaborative Vanderbilt Lung Institute launches

By Matt Batcheldor
October 29, 2020

Surgery risk model proves invaluable during pandemic

When Gov. Bill Lee halted all elective, or scheduled rather than urgent, surgical procedures in Tennessee on March 19 in order to slow the spread of COVID-19 and conserve medical supplies and equipment, surgical and administrative leaders at Vanderbilt University Medical Center began seeking solid data to drive any future decision to safely restart these procedures.

By Jill Clendening
October 14, 2020

Bacchetta named associate chair of Thoracic Surgery

Matthew Bacchetta, MD, MBA, MA, associate professor of Thoracic Surgery, has been named associate chair of Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Department of Thoracic Surgery, effective Sept. 1.
By Jill Clendening
October 8, 2020

COVID patient’s heart-lung transplant is world’s first

Vanderbilt University Medical Center has performed the world’s first dual heart-lung transplant of a COVID-19 patient.
By Matt Batcheldor
September 14, 2020

Former Cardiac and Thoracic Surgery leader Bender mourned

Harvey W. Bender, MD, professor of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgery, Emeritus, died Sept. 12. He was 86.
By Wayne Wood
September 10, 2020

Technique helped treat patient’s rare pulmonary disorder

Sourav Panja, PhD, a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, was working in his lab one evening last year when he began coughing up blood. Even breathing was becoming difficult.
By Matt Batcheldor
July 23, 2020

Criteria for lung cancer screens may be expanded

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) is recommending two changes that will nearly double the number of people eligible for lung cancer screening by lowering the age from 55 to 50 and reducing the number of smoking history pack years from 30 to 20.
By Tom Wilemon
July 13, 2020

Human lungs rejected for transplant recovered using novel technique

A multidisciplinary team from Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Columbia University has demonstrated that injured human donor lungs declined for transplant can be recovered by cross-circulation between the human lung and a xenogeneic host.
By Matt Batcheldor
April 30, 2020

Rehab technique may help increase donor lung supply

A new technique shows the potential to increase the supply of donor lungs by rehabilitating those organs previously considered too damaged for transplant.
By Matt Batcheldor