Department of Thoracic Surgery

The Vanderbilt team studying histoplasmosis includes (front row, from left, Heidi Chen, PhD, Melinda Aldrich, PhD, MPH, (back row, from left) Stephen Deppen, PhD, Eric Grogan, MD, MPH, and Jeffrey Blume, PhD.
April 18, 2019

Team explores fungal infection quandary in lung cancer screenings

Serving a region that lies within the tobacco belt, clinicians at Vanderbilt Health face challenges distinguishing lung cancer from histoplasmosis, a fungal infection that creates cancer-mimicking lesions in the lungs.

By Tom Wilemon
Past and present members of the Vanderbilt Transplant Center, guests and patients attended a celebration of VUMC’s 500th lung transplant at the Student Life Center Feb. 5. Shown here are (back row, from left) Matthew Bacchetta, MD, MBA, MA; Ivan Robbins, MD; Eric Grogan, MD, MPH; and Eric Lambright, MD; (front row, from left) James Loyd, MD; Pam Smith; Erin Gillaspie, MD, MPH; Andy Bolden and Ciara Shaver, MD, PhD. Bolden is the recipient of the 500th lung transplant at Vanderbilt, and Smith, who was transplanted at Vanderbilt in 1990, is the longest-surviving single-lung transplant patient in the United States. Vanderbilt performed its first combined heart/lung transplant in 1987 and its first single-lung transplant in 1990.
February 14, 2019

Celebrating a transplant milestone

Past and present members of the Vanderbilt Transplant Center, guests and patients attended a celebration of VUMC’s 500th lung transplant at the Student Life Center Feb. 5.

By VUMC News and Communications
Andy Bolden, second from right, is Vanderbilt Transplant Center’s 500th lung transplant patient. Here, he’s with, from left, Matthew Bacchetta, MD, Eric Lambright, MD, and Ivan Robbins, MD.
January 31, 2019

Transplant Center reaches lung transplant milestone

Alabama resident Andy Bolden spent much of the last five years on the couch, having difficulty doing something many people take for granted — breathing.

By Matt Batcheldor
October 25, 2018

Bacchetta to help expand pulmonary surgery program

Matthew Bacchetta, MD, MBA, MA, has joined the Department of Thoracic Surgery as an associate professor and the surgical director of a new respiratory institute at Vanderbilt University Medical Center that will be launched soon.

By Matt Batcheldor
September 14, 2018

New histoplasmosis risk map

The new mapping approach, called suitability score mapping, should improve public health assessments and interventions for geographic-specific infections.

By Bill Snyder
April 26, 2018

New robot expands options for thoracic surgery patients

The thoracic surgery team at Vanderbilt University Medical Center recently added a new tool to its collection of minimally invasive techniques to provide patients the most advanced robotic-assisted surgical procedures.

By Jessica Pasley
October 26, 2017

Team to develop steerable robotic needle for biopsies

Collaboration between a mechanical engineer at Vanderbilt University and a pulmonologist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) has resulted in a National Institutes of Health (NIH) R01 grant that will be used to develop a steerable robotic needle to safely biopsy hard-to-reach lung nodules.
By Kathy Whitney
June 29, 2017

Genetics of lung cancer survival

Vanderbilt investigators have conducted a first-of-its-kind genome-wide association study of lung cancer survival in African-Americans.
By Sanjay Mishra
September 1, 2016

New simulation tool helps sharpen heart surgery skills

Just as pilots and members of the military go through boot camp and simulation exercises early in their training so they are prepared to respond in real-life situations, first-year cardiothoracic fellows at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) recently experienced their own specially designed boot camp centered around a new high-fidelity simulator that realistically re-recreates cardiac procedures so they are better prepared for the operating room.
By Jill Clendening
September 24, 2014

Study finds accuracy of lung cancer imaging varies by region

A new analysis of published studies found that FDG-PET technology is less accurate in diagnosing lung cancer versus benign disease in regions where infections like histoplasmosis or tuberculosis are common.
By VUMC News and Communications
September 18, 2014

Grant spurs lung cancer surgery research

Joe B. (Bill) Putnam Jr., M.D., Ingram Professor of Cancer Research and chair of the Department of Thoracic Surgery, and colleague Felix Fernandez, M.D., assistant professor of Surgery, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, have received a grant to investigate the most effective forms of surgery to treat lung cancer patients.
By VUMC News and Communications
August 1, 2013

Study explores race differences of lung cancer risk

Vanderbilt research scientist Melinda Aldrich, Ph.D., MPH, has been awarded a National Institutes of Health Academic Career Award to investigate some of the genetic secrets behind a greater risk of lung cancer among African-Americans compared with other racial and ethnic groups.
By VUMC News and Communications
December 13, 2012

Study finds obesity increases time in OR for lung surgery

A new study led by Vanderbilt University Medical Center investigators found that obese patients undergoing surgery for lung cancer spent more time in the operating room, adding to the nation’s health care bill.
By VUMC News and Communications
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