Lung Cancer Surgery

Comprehensive Thoracic & Lung Cancer Surgery

Though excising lung tumors is part of the cardiothoracic surgeon’s routine, there’s nothing “routine” about it. What about medically inoperable patients? What about tumors that are marginally resectable or unresectable?

That’s where Paul E. Seifert, MD, FACS, comes in. In addition to his expertise with video-assisted thoracoscopy (VATS) for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures within the chest, bronchoscopy and mediastinoscopy, Dr. Seifert can now treat patients who are inappropriate for invasive surgery. At West Surburban Cardiothoracic Surgery in Waukesha, Wisconsin, he uses stereotactic radiosurgery – CyberKnife®. Despite the name “radiosurgery,” there’s really no invasive surgery at all with CyberKnife technology. CyberKnife tracks a tumor’s true location during treatment and continually adjusts for movement, even respiratory movement. This permits radiosurgery on tumors anywhere in the body.

New Hope For Your Lung Cancer Patients

Dr. Seifert has always been strongly attracted to thoracic surgery. His practice performed the first VATS-lobectomy for lung cancer in southeastern Wisconsin in 2005. His surgical repertoire covers the full range of available surgical procedures – thoracoscopy, lobectomy, mediastinoscopy, bronchoscopy and stereotactic radiosurgery – for people with lung cancer.

Video-assisted thoracoscopy is a surgical procedure involving smaller incisions through which the lungs can be more accurately visualized and treated. Dr. Seifert may use thoracoscopy to stage lung masses, repair collapsed lungs or drain fluid around the lungs. Lobectomy is the excision of a lobe from a lung. Mediastinoscopy allows visualization and staging of lymph nodes in the mediastinum. Bronchoscopy is a procedure that examines the patient’s airway for inflammation, obstructions, tumors and bleeding. The bronchoscope also allows biopsies of any masses.

Being able to offer all of these procedures to a patient with a potential thoracic malignancy is a huge advantage. As the first surgical director of the Thoracic Oncology Program at Waukesha Memorial Hospital, Dr. Seifert helped establish the first multidisciplinary thoracic oncology program in southeastern Wisconsin. Today, he is still very much involved in that program and deeply committed to its continued success in treating lung cancer patients.

At West Suburban Cardiothoracic Surgery, you’ll find thoracic expertise you can count on. Dr. Seifert is a board-certified fellow of the American College of Surgeons and American College of Chest Physicians and is highly experienced in all aspects of cardiovascular and thoracic surgical care.

Dr. Seifert looks forward to the opportunity to help your lung cancer patients survive and regain a normal quality of life. For more information or to schedule a referral, please call West Suburban Cardiothoracic Surgery in Waukesha, Wisconsin at 262-522-6900.