MedStar Health: Lung and Esophageal Center at MedStar Washington Hospital Center

Welcome to the Lung and Esophageal Center at MedStar Washington Hospital Center

We provide comprehensive care for patients with a full range of benign and malignant thoracic conditions, with a focus on diagnostics and surgical treatments. Our providers include board-certified thoracic surgeons, an interventional pulmonologist, and two advanced practice providers who work together to create individualized treatment pathways for each patient.

Close collaboration with colleagues in specialties such as medical oncology, radiation oncology, gastroenterology, and interventional radiology, as well as participation in weekly interdisciplinary thoracic oncology conferences, ensures that we present our patients with the best possible treatment options for their unique conditions.

Why Choose Us?

Every patient that receives care in our Center is unique in their anatomy and underlying condition, whether benign or malignant. The expertise of our clinicians allows us to recognize the unique profile of each patient and their overall goals to ensure excellent outcomes.

Let’s look at how this works for a typical patient with possible lung cancer. First, a life-long smoker visits the Lung Cancer Screening Program, and their CT scan detects a suspicious lung nodule. Then, with a referral to the Lung and Esophageal Center, the patient will meet with a surgeon and an interventional pulmonologist on the same day.

Multidisciplinary visits and in-person care coordination can reduce additional appointments and the time to diagnosis, allowing for more expedited treatment. In addition, our collaboration with the MedStar Georgetown Cancer Institute at MedStar Washington Hospital Center allows our patients to participate in cutting-edge clinical trials when applicable.

When patients may require surgery, we collaborate with radiology, gastroenterology, and medical oncology to determine the timing and next steps. Then, with the best resources, we develop informed recommendations about whether surgery is indicated and share our rationale with the patient. This strategy empowers the patient to make the most educated decision about their treatment and care.

We care for our patients with many innovative and traditional diagnostic and surgical tools. Our Center was one of the first in the nation to employ the Auris Monarch Navigational Bronchoscope, which allows us to navigate more precisely within the lung and biopsy nodules that previously would have been unreachable or too small to sample. Our surgeons are well versed in using open and minimally invasive robotic, thoracoscopic, and laparoscopic surgical techniques and endoscopic and bronchoscopic treatment options.