The Cardiothoracic Surgery Unit (CTSU), now rebranded as the Division of the Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery (CVTS), is one of the oldest units/divisions in the Legacy Department of Surgery at the University College Hospital Ibadan and one of the oldest surgical units in the country. The unit/division is currently manned by three Honorary Consultant Surgeons with vast local and international experience, exposure, training and qualifications. The unit/division attends to all emergencies in the areas of vascular, thoracic and cardiac surgery; 24 hours a day for 7 days a week. It runs weekly outpatient services at the Surgical Outpatient Department (SOP) every Monday from 9am. It also runs two Elective Operating Theatre sessions on Tuesday and Thursday every week. It performs emergency operations regularly on any day of the week and runs others ancillary programs like the Electrophysiology and Cardiac Pacemaker Interrogation clinics every Friday. It has also developed a robust service in Pleural Endoscopy (Medical Thoracoscopy), image-guided pleural drainages and percutaneous lung and mediastinal biopsies. The division runs its services primarily for adults patients on the North-west 1 ward (10 beds) and for paediatric patients on South-East 2 and South-west 2 (2-4 beds). Our surgical operations are carried out in the dedicated stand-alone built-for-purpose State-of-the-art Cardiac theatre complex which is en-suite with an attached Cardiac catheterization laboratory (Cath-lab) and a 3-bedded Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Seamless operative work in the division is carried out by a collaboration between the surgical team and the cardiac anaesthesia team, cardiac peri-operative nurses, cardiac ICU nurses and clinical perfusionists. The operating theatre complex also has a dedicated team of biomedical engineers who man the dedicated power supply unit, electrical controls and medical gas supply installations and also carry out day-to-day maintenance of installed facilities and equipment within the complex.

The range of surgical services available includes but is not limited to:

Cardiac Surgery– Open Heart Surgery (Adult and Paediatric), Routine Closed Heart Surgery (Ligation of Patent Ductus Arteriosus, Creation of Modified Blalock-Taussig Shunt (Modified BT Shunt), Repair of Coartation of the Aorta, Pericardiectomy, Pericardiostomy and Pericardiocentesis (Pericardial Effusion Drainage), Trauma surgery for cardiac chamber injuries from stab and Gunshot injuries etc), Implantation of Cardiac Electrical Devices {Single and Double Chamber pacemakers implantations, Cardiac Resynchronisation Therapy (CRT), Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators (ICDs)}

Thoracic Surgery– Anatomical and non-anatomic lung resections for various lung diseases including resectable malignant lung disease/lung cancer, pulmonary metastesectomies, Tuberculosis and fungal diseases of the lung like fungal ball, massive hemoptysis, suppurative lung disease including Monaldi’s procedure, benign diseases like bronchial adenoma etc; Mediastinal tumour resections/biopsies like Thymic tumours, teratomas, retrosternal and mediastinal goitres, mediastinal cysts, neurogenic tumours, dumbbell spinal tumours; Mediastinoscopy and Chamberlain’s procedure Esophageal surgeries like Modified Heller’s procedure for Achalasia, Esophagectomy and Esophageal replacement surgery with stomach, colon and jejunum for corrosive injuries, esophageal cancer and other tumours, esophageal perforation etc, Esophageal diverticular disease (myotomy and diverticulectomy, esophagoscopy; Chest wall tumour resection and oncoplastic reconstruction (native and synthetic tissue), Thoracic duct surgery for Chylothorax management Pleural disease management Drainage of simple and complex pleural effusions (tube thoracostomy, pig tail catheter thoracostomy, open drainage etc), Empyema management including Decortication, Eloesser window, Pleural lytic therapy etc Video-assisted Thoracoscopic surgery including Uniportal VATS enabled surgeries especially lung resections and other lung surgeries

Vascular Surgery- Aneursym surgeries (including different types of Aortic aneursyms and peripheral arterial aneurysms), Carotid surgery for Stroke Carotid End-arterectomy, Carotid bypass surgeries Peripheral Arterial Occlusive Disease surgeries Anatomical and extra-anatomical bypass, thrombectomy and peripheral artery endarterectomy, arterioplasty Vascular trauma Accidental and intra-operative or intra-procedural vascular trauma  Venous embolism Thrombectomy and IVC filter insertions Venous insufficiency surgeries Venous stripping, Radiofrequency Ablation of varicose veins, Venous sclerotherapy etc Vascular access Insertion of central venous lines, Chemo-port lines, PIC lines, Tunneled venous catheters, Invasive arterial lines etc Hemodialysis vascular access via arteriovenous shunts/fistula creation Artero-venous malformation management All Extracranial malformation resections

The division/unit is very flexible, innovative and immersed in strictly implementing evidence-based surgical practice which is aligned to international best practices in the field of Cardiovascular and Thoracic surgery. It is involved in the training of resident doctors at both Fellowship and membership levels as well as undergraduate students in the field of medicine, physiotherapy, nursing and other allied professions, with students drawn from our major local affiliate institution, the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan as well as elective students visiting from several local and foreign medical schools. The unit has a very rich culture and age-long tradition of conducting high impact cutting-edge surgical research with several ongoing projects and clinical trials. It is one of the busiest centres of excellence in Cardiothoracic Surgery in Nigeria of today.