Northwell’s thoracic surgery programs at Staten Island University Hospital and South Shore University Hospital in Bay Shore received two-star ratings from the STS, a reflection of their strong programs.
 
The latest reports included results from 214 general thoracic surgery programs, which submitted data to STS for time period July 2018 through June 2021. One category analyzed outcomes for lobectomy procedures, a surgical procedure where an entire lobe of the lung is removed, which is most commonly performed to treat lung cancer. During the same reporting period, the STS issued its first-ever composite star rating for pulmonary resection for lung cancer that include lobectomy, wedge resection and other types of lung resections. 

“Congratulations to both Lenox Hill Hospital and LIJ Medical Center for achieving top recognition in their field demonstrating their leadership and superior outcomes in thoracic oncology surgery,” said Alan Hartman, MD, senior vice president and executive director, cardiovascular and thoracic surgery at Northwell Health. “These fantastic patient outcomes are due to the commitment and expertise of the entire thoracic surgery teams – our nurses, anesthesiologists, intensivists, physician assistants, nurses and the perioperative staff. We leverage a full spectrum of high-quality care and resources for our patients at our hospitals.”

Lung cancer treatment options

Approximately 136,000 people die of lung cancer in the U.S. each year, making it the leading cause of cancer death in the country. More than 236,000 new cases of lung cancer are estimated to be diagnosed in the U.S. this year, with the rate of new cases varying by state, according to the American Cancer Society. If detected early, many lung cancers can be successfully treated with advanced minimally invasive robotic techniques for lung cancer surgery.

“Very few thoracic surgery teams attain the prestigious three-star rating in lung cancer surgery,” said Paul C. Lee, MD, system director of thoracic surgery at Northwell Health. “When patients come to Northwell, they are not only getting a top surgeon, but a team of highly qualified health care professionals working together every day committed to achieving the best quality outcomes for patients. Patients and family members may select a surgeon for a procedure but actually consumers should also know they are picking an experienced, A-plus team for total lung cancer surgery care.

“Top-rated hospitals such as Lenox Hill and LIJ use minimally invasive techniques for lobectomy 98 percent of the time, which gives patients a faster recovery, less pain and quicker return to work or other activities,” said Dr. Lee. “We see many older patients, some in their 80s and even 90s who have done well with lung surgery and remained cancer-free. We don’t look at age, per se, but assess a person’s overall function.”
 
The STS star rating system is one of the most sophisticated and highly regarded overall measures of quality in health care, rating the benchmarked outcomes of cardiothoracic surgery programs. The General Thoracic Surgery Database (GTSD) star ratings are obtained by testing whether the participant's composite or domain score is significantly different from the overall STS average for lobectomy and pulmonary resections for lung cancer performed by GTSD participants.  

STS General Thoracic Surgery Public Reporting offers a comparison of GTSD and national outcomes, demonstrating the high performance of GTSD participants. The GTSD – the largest and most robust clinical thoracic surgical database in the United States and Canada – contains more than 616,000 general thoracic surgery procedure records and has approximately 1,000 participating physicians. About 35 percent of GTSD participants are currently enrolled in public reporting.

Participation in STS general thoracic surgery database is voluntary, highlighting the importance of Northwell’s commitment to quality improvement and transparency of outcomes.