Professor Tomasz Grodzki: a Polish pioneer in lung transplantation
Editor’s notes
The 26th Meeting of the European Society of Thoracic Surgeons was held during May 27–30, 2018 in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Gathering experts all over the world, the conference devoted much attention to thoracic diseases and covered dozens of international academic researches.
Expert introduction
Tomasz Grodzki, MD, PhD, FETCS (Department of Thoracic Surgery and Transplantation, Pomeranian Medical University, Szczecin-Zdunowo, Poland), is a National Consultant in Thoracic Surgery for Poland and a Chairman of the Polish Society of Cardiothoracic Surgeons. In 2015, Prof. Grodzki was elected to the Senate of the Republic of Poland.
He is head of the General Thoracic Surgery and Clinical Transplantation Clinic of the Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin since 1995. Prof. Grodzki is an active thoracic surgeon and transplantologist and he specializes in lung transplantation.
His main research interests include lung cancer screening; lung cancer; lung function following resection; technical modifications of surgery; lung transplantations and case reports; esophageal cancer; LVRS including intrabronchial valves and coils.
Interview
During the conference, the Editorial Office of Video-Assisted Thoracic Surgery was honored to do an interview with Prof. Tomasz Grodzki (Figure 1) and invited him to share his opinions regarding the field of lung transplantation.
In the interview, Prof. Grodzki mentioned that thoracic surgery plays an important part of his life. He is very proud of the tremendous changes brought by the rapid development of thoracic surgery in recent years. Besides, Prof. Grodzki is also proud of his highly specialized and multidisciplinary team, which does a great job on a variety of surgical procedures, including lung surgery, esophageal surgery, mediastinal surgery, chest wall and transplantation. Prof. Grodzki led his surgical team in performing Poland’s first lung transplant in1996, which solidified their center’s reputation as a leader in lung transplant surgery.
It is known to all that lung cancer is the biggest cancer killer in many nations, and unfortunately, 80% of lung cancers are detected in the inoperable phase. Prof. Grodzki pointed out that early lung cancer screening is crucial to increase the number of operable patients. Low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) can greatly improve the diagnosis rates of early lung cancer, which is extremely important not only from the clinical point of view, but also from the epidemiology point of view. Thus, it’s important to fight with them at the earliest stage when the curative treatment can be provided for the patient.
In regards to lung transplantation, Prof. Grodzki talked about its earth-shaking changes and developments. At present, lung transplant seems to be a more routine operation in large medical centers, and the survival rates after surgery have also been greatly improved. Additionally, Prof. Grodzki believes that gene transfer holds extraordinary promise and it will eventually yield results in the field of lung transplantation, while several hurdles should be overcome, for example, the immune reactions between recipient and donor need to be impeded.
Finally, Prof. Grodzki said that currently, in cooperation with the University of Bern, he and his team would like to focus on the gene transfers in lung transplantation in the coming years.
Interview questions
- Being a thoracic surgeon, how do you feel?
- How important do you think screening in lung cancer?
- Is there a particular achievement you are most proud of in your career so far?
- Would you like to talk about major changes in lung transplantation?
- Looking forward, what areas of research within lung transplantation do you think are the most exciting?
- Is there a specific research area you will pursue in the future?
Let’s enjoy the video (Figure 2)!
Acknowledgments
Funding: None.
Footnote
Provenance and Peer Review: This article was commissioned by the Editorial Office, Video-Assisted Thoracic Surgery. The article did not undergo external peer review.
Conflicts of Interest: Both authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at http://dx.doi.org/10.21037/vats.2018.07.01). The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
Ethical Statement: The authors are accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
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References
- Gao L, Wang J. Interview with Tomasz Grodzki: a Polish pioneer in lung transplantation. Asvide 2018;5:623. Available online: http://www.asvide.com/article/view/25916
(Science Editors: Linda Gao, Julia Wang, VATS, vats@amegroups.com)
Cite this article as: Gao L, Wang J. Professor Tomasz Grodzki: a Polish pioneer in lung transplantation. Video-assist Thorac Surg 2018;3:28.
