Pediatric Thoracic Surgery

Pediatric surgeons at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital treat issues affecting the organs in your child’s chest. They also treat the chest wall — skin, fat, bones, muscles and other tissues surrounding the heart, lungs, major blood vessels and liver. When your child needs pediatric chest surgery, we’re here to help.

Parents are encouraged to be with their children every step of the way and are an integral part of the care team.

Why Choose Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital for Pediatric Thoracic Surgery?

We offer comprehensive treatment for children of all ages. Here, you’ll find:

Expertise in thoracic care: Our team has treated thousands of children with chest conditions. We treat both common and rare conditions, from chest wall deformities to bone growth disorders.
A “one-stop shop”: We are one of only a few regional hospitals with a multidisciplinary clinic for chest wall deformities. Our clinic offers a physical therapist and surgeon in one place, so you don’t need to travel for quality care.
A range of options: Many children with thoracic conditions can benefit from nonsurgical options, such as a vacuum bell or compression brace. When children do need thoracic surgery, we often can use minimally invasive techniques.
Convenient locations: We offer convenient options to fit your family’s busy lifestyle. Our surgeons see children at several locations in Broward and Palm Beach counties.

What Conditions Do We Treat?

We offer a full range of procedures to treat conditions including:

Common chest wall deformities

Two of the most common conditions we treat are:

Pectus carinatum: Children with this condition, also called pigeon chest, have a protruding sternum (breastbone) and ribs.
Pectus excavatum: In this condition, also called sunken chest, a child’s breastbone is sunken into his or her chest.

Rare chest wall deformities

We also treat rare conditions, such as mixed chest wall deformities and congenital and acquired thoracic dystrophy, like Jeune syndrome.

Tumors of the chest

We work closely with pediatric oncologists (children’s cancer specialists) when surgery is needed to remove a growth in your child’s chest.

Lung growths

Sometimes, a child’s lung tissue develops more than normal in the womb (known as congenital lesions) or after birth (acquired lesions). While these conditions are uncommon, they can cause breathing problems, infections and cancer (in rare cases). We can surgically remove the extra tissue using minimally invasive techniques.

Nutritional problems

Sometimes, children have medical conditions that prevent them from getting enough nutrients. These problems might include digestive system conditions, sucking or swallowing disorders, or trouble gaining weight (called failure to thrive). We can place a gastrostomy tube, also called a G-tube, through the belly to bring fluid and calories to the stomach.