Chest and Lung Surgery with Sanitas
A small specialty you reach through your lung doctor rather than by booking, and one concentrated in a handful of large hospitals for good reason.
How you get here
Through a lung specialist, almost always. Something turns up on a scan, or a biopsy is needed, and the respiratory doctor refers on. Very few people book a thoracic surgeon as a first appointment.
What they operate on
Lung tumours, both taking samples and removing them. Collapsed lung, which can happen spontaneously in tall young men and after chest injury. Chest wall injuries and rib fractures needing fixing. Fluid around the lung that needs draining. Removing lymph nodes from the chest for diagnosis. And excessive sweating of the hands, which is treated by a keyhole operation on nerves in the chest – an odd one, but it is where it belongs.
Keyhole surgery
Most chest surgery is now done through small incisions with a camera rather than by opening the chest. Recovery is considerably faster and the difference is substantial. Whether it applies to your case depends on what is being done, and it is a fair question to ask the surgeon directly.
Waiting periods
Consultations immediately. Planned surgery needing a hospital bed after 10 months. Emergencies from day one – a collapsed lung or a serious chest injury is covered whatever the age of your policy.
See every Sanitas waiting period in one place, including how switching from another insurer waives nearly all of them.
Where the thoracic surgeons are
75 clinics across 22 provinces, with 120 named specialists between them – and you reach them through a lung specialist rather than booking directly.
- Madrid – 16 clinics, 19 surgeons
- Barcelona – 15 clinics, 51 surgeons
- Valencia – 6 clinics, 7 surgeons
- Malaga – 5 clinics, 5 surgeons
- Seville – 5 clinics, 2 surgeons
Only 22 provinces, the thinnest coverage of any surgical specialty in the network. Expect to travel, which is appropriate for work of this kind.
Ask us and we will check who is near you and what languages they work in.
What you pay
Nothing on a no-co-payment plan once waiting periods have passed. A fixed amount per appointment on a co-payment plan.
Find a thoracic surgeon near you
Browse thoracic surgeons in the Sanitas directory – by province, with addresses, phone numbers and a map.
