Cardiothoracic Surgery Glossary

A surgical opening created in the pericardium to allow continuous drainage of pericardial fluid into the pleural space.

Procedure to remove fluid from the pericardial space around the heart.

Paralysis of the diaphragm due to phrenic nerve injury during cardiac or thoracic surgery.

Potential cavity between the visceral and parietal pleura surrounding the lungs.

Complete adhesion of the visceral and parietal pleural surfaces, eliminating the pleural space.

A procedure to eliminate the pleural space by creating adhesions between visceral and parietal pleura.

Surgical removal of an entire lung.

A palliative surgical procedure involving placement of a constricting band around the pulmonary artery to reduce pulmona...

Emergency surgical removal of blood clots from the pulmonary arteries in cases of massive pulmonary embolism.

Surgical removal of organized thromboembolic material from pulmonary arteries to restore blood flow in chronic thromboem...

Invasive diagnostic procedure measuring pressures and cardiac output in the right-sided cardiac chambers and pulmonary c...

A complex cardiac surgical procedure where a patient's own pulmonary valve is transplanted to replace a diseased aortic...

The right ventricular outflow tract, the pathway through which blood flows from the right ventricle to the pulmonary art...

A blood vessel harvested from the patient's leg for use as a conduit in coronary artery bypass surgery.

Surgical removal of a specific anatomic segment of lung while preserving adjacent normal lung tissue.

Surgical incision through the sternum to access the chest cavity.

Society of Thoracic Surgeons risk assessment tool predicting mortality and morbidity for cardiac surgery patients.

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement performed without open surgery.

Transesophageal echocardiography, an imaging technique using ultrasound via the esophagus during cardiac procedures.

The most common cyanotic congenital heart defect, consisting of four anatomic abnormalities affecting heart structure an...

Regional pain management technique using epidural catheter placement in the thoracic spine for post-operative analgesia.

Compression of nerves or blood vessels in the thoracic outlet between the neck and armpit.

Surgical incision into the chest wall to access thoracic structures.

An abnormal growth or tumor arising from the thymus gland in the anterior mediastinum.