Thoracic Surgery in Indian Armed Forces - Revisited

Background: The birth of thoracic surgery in Indian subcontinent happened at this Hospital (i. e. Army Institute of Cardiothoracic Sciences, Pune) in 1945 when Maj John Leigh Collis of British army established the centre which then took off with various types of collapse surgery and resection surgery and continues even after introduction of chemotherapy for pulmonary tuberculosis. This study analyzes the institutional experience with pulmonary surgery over last 70 years. Material & Method: This is a single institute observational study with a retrospective analysis of the database. Results: A total of 19249 thoracic surgeries have been performed with the average morbidity and mortality comparable to international standards. Conclusion: This centre has pioneered the thoracic surgery in this sub - continent and continues to manage various thoracic cases with commendable success and acceptable rate of complications in the country.