The Department of Thoracic Surgery was established in 1957, making it one of the earliest institutions in Guangdong to provide comprehensive diagnosis and treatment for thoracic tumors. Through more than half a century of dedicated efforts, the department has become one of Sun Yat-sen University's key training bases for thoracic oncology professionals, a degree-conferring unit for doctoral programs, and a nationally influential center for thoracic surgery diagnosis, treatment, and training. As a member of the hospital's Precision Oncology Surgery Center, it is designated as a Guangdong Provincial Clinical Key Specialty, serves as the Vice-Chair unit of the Thoracic Surgery Branch of the Guangdong Medical Doctor Association, and is the Vice-Director unit of the Sun Yat-sen University Lung Cancer Research Institute. The department's expertise is at the forefront in Guangdong Province.
In the early 1990s, the department pioneered bronchial sleeve resection, carinal resection and reconstruction, as well as gastric pull-up pharyngogastric anastomosis following combined laryngopharyngeal and cervical esophageal cancer resection in South China. Today, it routinely performs minimally invasive surgeries such as "Total Thoracoscopic Radical Lung Cancer Surgery" and "Combined Thoracoscopic-Laparoscopic Radical Esophagectomy," with its minimally invasive techniques ranking among the top nationwide. In recent years, the department has achieved new advancements in its development, and its overall strength now places it among the leading departments in the country. It handles nearly 7,000 outpatient visits and over 2,000 inpatient admissions annually, performing more than 1,000 thoracic tumor surgeries each year. Integrating medical care, teaching, and research, it is one of the departments in Guangdong that manages the highest volume of complex thoracic tumor cases. Its primary research focus lies in minimally invasive surgery and comprehensive treatment for lung and esophageal cancers. Department experts have long provided support to hospitals including Hainan Provincial People's Hospital, Zengcheng People's Hospital, Zhongshan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Northern Guangdong People's Hospital, Zhongshan Xiaolan People's Hospital, Shunde District People's Hospital, as well as hospitals in Shaoguan, Zhanjiang, and Shanwei, among others. They offer guidance on thoracic surgical techniques and share expertise in managing complex surgeries and critically ill patients, providing robust technical support for the development of thoracic surgery departments at these partner institutions.