Shifts can be long and irregular, as they may be called into work whenever emergencies and the need for surgeries arise. Cardiothoracic surgeons may work 60 or more hours a week. They may perform two surgeries one day and five the next. A surgical procedure can take up to eight hours or more.

A cardiothoracic surgeon performs surgery on your heart, lungs or esophagus and other parts of your chest. Surgeries can range from a heart valve replacement or heart transplant to treating lung cancer or esophageal cancer.

Your primary care physician, cardiologist, pulmonologist, or gastroenterologist may refer you to a thoracic surgeon if he/she feels that you could benefit from an operation to treat a condition involving the heart, lungs, esophagus, mediastinum, or chest wall.

Cardiologists can diagnose heart problems, perform minimally invasive procedures, and provide long-term treatment. Cardiac surgeons work on cardiologists' advice and provide treatment of complicated surgical procedures. They rarely see their patients outside of surgical consultation, operation, and early aftercare.