Education & Fellowships

The Cardiothoracic Surgery Training Program
School of Medicine Facilities

Los Angeles County + USC Medical Center
www.usc.edu/patient_care/hospitals/lac_usc

The Los Angeles County + USC Medical Center ranks as the largest medical training facility in the United States with more than 75,000 admissions yearly. The specialty services at LAC+USC feature primary resident responsibility with full-time faculty supervision. The cardiothoracic resident manages all phases of patient care in a separate dedicated area of the hospital that includes 8 I.C.U. beds, and two dedicated operating rooms (for cardiac and general thoracic cases).

The Cardiac Service will expose the resident to the full range of adult cardiac and great vessel disease as well as traumatic injuries to the heart and great vessels. There is a particularly strong component of valve surgery on this rotation. A PGY III general surgery house officer and a nurse practitioner provide auxiliary support for the cardiothoracic resident. There is a full-time faculty surgeon with an office in the Cardiothoracic Surgery Unit, and several other attending physicians participate and are available for specialized procedures (i.e. adult congenital cases).

In addition to the Cardiac Service at LAC + USC Medical Center, there is a separate General Thoracic Service staffed by two full time thoracic faculty. The General Thoracic Service includes patients with benign, malignant and infectious diseases of the lung, trachea, esophagus, mediastinum diaphragm, and pleural space. There is extensive training in endoscopic examination of aerodigestive tract, and exposure to physiologic and manometric testing of esophagus, as well as pulmonary function testing.

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