Thoracic Surgeon – Salary and Career Opportunities

Thoracic Surgeon – salary and career opportunities have been vividly and comprehensively explained in this post.

Therefore, thoracic surgeons are core specialists who specialize in correcting all occurring conditions within the patient’s chest region.

The medical field includes conditions on the esophagus, issues with the major blood vessels, and problems with the heart and lungs.

The Thoracic surgeons are among if not the best paid of all the surgical specialists.

Due to the most challenging and life-threatening conditions in medicine they handle.

Thoracic surgeons are full of opportunities to save lives and to also adopt new and more advanced technologies.

It has always been a career that comes with a whole lot of intense demands.

The cardiothoracic surgeon also receives training and board certification in thoracic surgery.

The surgeon might also choose to focus on cardiac surgery, transparent surgery, general surgery, or even the combination of different conditions.

Table of Contents

Why would you see a thoracic surgeon?

There are lots of reasons why you or your loved one might need thoracic surgery:

Some might be injuries or accidents that have caused major damage within the chest region.

While others have a growth or disease such as cancer.

Others are born with conditions or circumstances that might require surgery to improve on their body movement.

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Is thoracic surgery and cardiothoracic surgery the same?

Most of the times, the term Thoracic Surgery is used interchangeably with:

Cardiothoracic Surgery, Adult Cardiac Surgery, Cardiovascular Surgery, Congenital Cardiothoracic Surgery, and General Thoracic Surgery.

How much is Thoracic Surgery?

It has been examined based on the surgeon’s experience with VATS over the 6 months after each operation.

Which has brought out a significant association between surgeon experience and cost.

Averagely, costs ranged from $22,050, for low capacity surgeons to $18,133 for high capacity surgeons.

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How is Thoracic Surgery Done?

During thoracotomy surgery, an opening is made on the side of the chest between the ribs.

The ribs are then open apart so that the surgeon would be able to see into the chest cavity and remove the affected tissue.

The Median Income of a Thoracic Surgeon

The salary survey department within the medical profession report incomes in two ways.

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By Averages and in Medians

The median is a platform at which half the respondent earn more, while the other half earn less.

When you contrast the two, you can provide an average additional insight into the ranges of salary.

Based on the salary survey, the (AMGA) has decided that the median income of cardiothoracic surgeons should remain at an average of $533,084.

There is a large variance between the median and the average most especially in this instance.

It has indicated that most or some thoracic surgeons earn a very high annual income by changing the overall average.

The survey provides the median in the year 2011-2012 a median of $360,000 for the cardiothoracic surgeons in their first year of practice.

National Salary Average of a Thoracic Surgeon

The gathering of thoracic surgeons has described a cardiothoracic surgeon as one of the most inclusive terms for the specialty.

Although, some industries report cardiovascular and thoracic surgeons’ salaries differently.

In the year 2011, the Medical Group Management Association found out that the cardiovascular surgeons occupied two of the four highest-paid positions.

An overall estimate; the pediatric cardiovascular surgeons averagely receive $762,846 per annum.

While the non-pediatric cardiovascular surgeons averagely receive $ 560,659 per annum.

Then, the general thoracic surgeon averagely receives about $473,927 per annum.

In the hospitals, same cardiovascular surgeons are paid $681,408 and $567,171 per annum.

After six years of practice, the recruiting agency profiles places an average of about $522,875 for early career and thoracic surgeons.

Basic Comparisons between Thoracic Surgeons

Within the profile survey, only the orthopedic spinal surgeons, at $465,000 and the neurosurgeons at $395,000, begin their careers with higher median incomes.

Via the comparison, general surgeons begin practice with a median income of $225,000.

While the trauma surgeons earn a median of $298,000 in their first year.

These inconsistencies would remain throughout surgeons’ years of practice.

Salary Order of Preference

The MGMA salary data has shown that the orthopedic spinal surgeons are the highest-paid hospital surgeons at an average of $714,088 annually.

The Neurosurgeons are the second-highest paid at $701,927, followed by the pediatric thoracic surgeon.

The trauma surgeons earned about $432,155 annually, while the general surgeons don’t make the list to the top earners.

The Outlook

For those aspiring to be a thoracic surgeon, heart, and lung problems are often age-related issues which is a good long-term prospect.

Another large part of this growth will come from the aging of the baby boom generation with the need for medical care.

By so doing, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has predicted that the demand for physicians and surgeons of all manner will eventually grow by 24% between 2010 & 2020.

Cardiothoracic Surgeon Educational Requirements

Unlike other surgeons, the cardiothoracic surgeon must graduate from a medical school.

A cardiothoracic surgeon must enter into a six years cardiothoracic surgery residency.

A lot of cardiothoracic surgeons complete a five-year general surgery program before becoming a specialty.

There is also a two or three year’s cardiovascular surgery residency program.

Thoracic Surgeon Career Opportunities

The cardiovascular surgeons typically or categorically work in the hospitals.

There perform both emergency and scheduled operations by delivering pre and post-operative care to patients.

Some thoracic surgeons work in Universities and teaching hospitals.

The surgeons are constantly facing life or death situations and it is on their ability to make quick and required decisions.

Therefore, these decisions would either make the patients or mar the patients.

There is an extremely high level of stress involved in the job, two or three days can never be the same.

The Needed Year of Experience

15 years of classroom, residency, and fellowship training is not an easy process to feature before becoming a cardiovascular surgeon.

Therefore, as a means of compensation for all the tasking work, a typical heart surgeon’s salary is at a high rate from the go.

The same salary increases as the surgeon gain more statue and experiences:

5 years of experience: $203,000
10 years of experience: $303,000
20 years and above: $500,000 and above.
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The Job Growth Prediction Trend

The prospects for surgeons have been projected to grow by up to 13% from the year 2016 to 2026.

This astrophysical growth increase is due to a fast-growing aging population which has boosted the demand for cardiovascular care.

However, surgical innovations are allowing heart specialists to perform surgeries in less invasive ways that were not possible a few years ago.

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