Residency Overview

The Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery provides you with the skills and knowledge to adapt to fast-paced advances in cardiac and thoracic surgical treatment.

The residency program focuses on flexibility by exposing you to a wide spectrum of surgical procedures. During your rotations on the UW Cardiac, the VA Cardiac, and the UW/VA General Thoracic services, you and your fellow residents will see nearly 1,000 cardiothoracic patients per year, one-tenth of whom are children. Among these services, 550 cardiac and 250 pulmonary procedures are performed each year. Your surgical experiences will include repair of congenital defects and cardiac and pulmonary transplantation.

During your first-year rotation on the UW services, you will be responsible for consultations and pre- and postoperative patient care, as well as perform pulmonary resections, esophageal surgeries, single valve replacements, and uncomplicated coronary artery bypass operations. In your second year, you will assume increased responsibility for patient care, and serve as the administrative chief resident.

During your VA rotation, you'll have significant responsibility for patient care. There, you will work closely with a physicians' assistant who manages the cardiac clinic, dealing with a full range of pulmonary, esophageal, diaphragmatic, and mediastinal problems.

The UW and VA Hospitals provide excellent support for clinical procedures, including cardiac catheterization laboratories, isotope laboratories, pulmonary function laboratories, and intensive care units.

Each institution also has research facilities and projects, with opportunities available for special studies. Issues under investigation include: myocardial stunning, myocardial infarct measuring, immunotherapy, and long-term assist for pulmonary and cardiac problems. Transplantation investigations include: multicenter clinical trials on drugs to prevent heart transplant rejection, lung preservation studies, novel approaches to detect lung transplant rejection, and effects of research fellowship is available for those of you who wish to develop your specialty further.

The two-year Cardiothoracic Surgery program accepts two applicants per year. The prerequisite for this program is a five-year general surgery residency and board eligibility. Residents may apply for the residency through the Thoracic Surgery Directors Association (TSDA) matching program.

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Cardiothoracic Surgery - University of Wisconsin Department of Surgery
First published: 07/15/02 Last updated: 05/17/08 webmaster@surgery.wisc.edu
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