About the Residency

The Texas Heart Institute/Baylor College of Medicine Thoracic Surgery Residency Program is a three-year program that accepts four residents annually. The Program Director is Joseph S. Coselli, MD, Professor and Executive Vice-Chair, Department of Surgery, Baylor College of Medicine and Professional Staff, Texas Heart Institute.

The program’s core values are integrity, respect for the individual, continuous commitment to excellence, dedication to discovery/innovation, and fostering leadership through education and teaching. These values are expressed through a program providing comprehensive training in adult and pediatric thoracic and cardiac surgery in an environment that stresses clinical excellence, clinical and basic research, and teaching as long-term goals for graduates.

Rotation Overview

The Thoracic Surgery Residency Program provides thorough training in all aspects of pre-operative and post-operative care to patients with pathological conditions within the chest. These include coronary artery disease, valvular heart disease, diseases of the aorta and great vessels, heart failure, lung failure, lung cancer, emphysema, disorders of the trachea and airways, esophageal disease (benign and malignant), and disorders of the mediastinum. A large and growing program in congenital heart surgery at Texas Children’s Hospital also provides thoracic residents significant experience treating congenital heart disease. Other clinical rotations include renowned institutions: M. D. Anderson Cancer Center; Harris County Hospital District/Ben Taub General Hospital; Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Administration Hospital; and Texas Heart Institute at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center.

The program emphasizes the central role of the residents in the management of thoracic surgical patients. It strives to impart core values as lifelong goals for the residents and seeks to help them become educators for life. In recognizing the relatively senior status and long clinical experience of the thoracic residents—and the highly competitive nature of the selection process for this program—residents are viewed as colleagues as well as students, and it is considered a privilege to work with them. Residents obtain a large and diverse clinical experience of decision-making and hands-on operative experience.