History & Development

A residency training program in thoracic surgery, the first of its kind in the United States, was formalized at the University of Michigan in 1928. Dr. John Alexander, the first Head of Thoracic Surgery, instituted this two year period of training in thoracic surgery after thorough training in general surgery. This concept has governed thoracic surgical residency training throughout the United States since that time and was accepted by the American Board of Thoracic Surgery when it was established in 1948.

Dr. Alexander, troubled throughout his life with tuberculosis, remained as Head of Thoracic Surgery until his death in 1954. One of the first pioneers in the field to insist that thoracic surgery was a separate specialty; he was a dynamic and charismatic leader. He established fundamental principles for the surgical treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis.

Dr. Cameron Haight became the Head of Thoracic Surgery after Dr. Alexander's death and held that position until 1970. Dr. Haight's contributions to the field of thoracic surgery were many, but the best known was his development of a single stage repair of esophageal atresia. He also performed the first successful pneumonectomy in the Western Hemisphere. A scholar and meticulous surgeon, he led the Section of Thoracic Surgery into the "new" era of cardiac surgery. It was during these years that surgery of the heart and great vessels became established as surgical tuberculosis faded from view. The first open heart operation at the University was performed in 1956 by Dr. Herbert Sloan, and 6 years later the Section was able to report 600 hundred open heart procedures which had been performed at the University of Michigan.

Dr. Sloan became Head of the Section in 1970. A pioneer in pediatric cardiac surgery, he performed the first successful open heart surgery in infants in Michigan. Dr. Sloan served as President of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (1974-1975), Secretary of the American Board of Thoracic Surgery (1973-1986), President of the American Association of Thoracic Surgery (1979-1980), and Editor of the Annals of Thoracic Surgery (1969-1984). Dr. Sloan retired from his position as Section Head in 1985.

In 1985, Dr. Mark Orringer, a recognized authority in esophageal surgery, succeeded Dr. Sloan as Head of the Section of Thoracic Surgery. He quickly recruited Dr. Edward Bove the same year to direct the University of Michigan Pediatric Cardiac Surgery program. Drs. G. Michael Deeb and Steven Bolling joined the faculty in 1986 as Adult Cardiac surgeons and developed expertise in thoracic aortic surgery and mitral valve repair, respectively. An active advocate of resident education and past President of the Thoracic Surgery Directors Association (1997-1999), Dr. Orringer has maintained the current high standards of the University of Michigan Thoracic Surgery Residency Program. A balanced approach to education in the entire specialty has been sustained with nationally recognized clinical programs in Adult and Pediatric Cardiac and General Thoracic Surgery.

In 1998, the University of Michigan Section of Thoracic Surgery was reorganized into two administratively automatous academic sections, the Section of Cardiac Surgery with its Divisions of Adult and Pediatric Cardiac Surgery, and the Section of General Thoracic Surgery. The residency program, however, remains a priority of both Sections, which remain unified as one faculty responsible for producing well-trained Thoracic Surgeons under the guidelines established by the American Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and the Residency Review Committee (RRC) for Thoracic Surgery.

Since its inception, the thoracic surgery residency program at the University of Michigan has educated 243 thoracic surgeons, more than any other program in the country. In 1970, the number of residents in each of the two years of the training program was reduced from 4 to 3 in order to enhance the residents' operative experience, and this number has remained stable over the years.

All University of Michigan thoracic surgery residents who have taken the American Board of Thoracic Surgery examination have been certified. Their performance on this examination has uniformly been excellent. The educational experience provided the resident is among the best balanced of any program in the United States. The senior faculty of both the Cardiac and Thoracic Surgery Sections all have achieved national and international and professional recognition.

The growth of the University of Michigan Cardiac and Thoracic Surgery Services over the years is reflected in the following data:

Major Operations

Outpatient Visits