Norton Thoracic Institute - Dignity Health St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center - Phoenix

A kidney transplant is a surgical procedure to place a healthy kidney from a living or deceased donor into a person whose kidneys no longer function properly.

Lung cancer screenings use low-dose computed tomography to make detailed images of your lungs. The scan only takes a few minutes and is not painful.

Kidney donors must be evaluated thoroughly and cleared to make sure they can lead a normal life post-surgery. When the kidney is removed, the single normal kidney will increase in size to compensate for the loss of the donated kidney.

During a lung transplant, surgeons remove your diseased lung and then attach a donor lung to your airway and to the blood vessels that lead to and from your heart.

A pulmonary nodule, or lung nodule, is a “spot” smaller than 2 centimeters that appears on an x-ray, CT scan, or other diagnostic imaging. Abnormalities larger than 2 cm are considered pulmonary “masses” instead of nodules. Pulmonary nodules are fairly common.

Achalasia is a rare condition that makes it hard for the esophagus to move food into the stomach. A loss of nerve cells in the esophagus causes achalasia, but the reason for this loss is unknown.

Barrett's esophagus is a potentially serious complication of GERD, which stands for gastroesophageal reflux disease.

A benign esophageal stricture is a narrowing of the esophagus that can make swallowing difficult. Benign strictures in the esophagus can be caused by a variety of injuries and diseases.

Diffuse esophageal spasm is a rare disorder that makes it hard to swallow foods and liquids. It can sometimes cause non-cardiac chest pain. The esophagus is the muscular tube that moves food or drink from the throat down into the stomach when you swallow. Its muscles produce a wave of coordinated contractions that pushes food down to the stomach. In diffuse esophageal spasm, these muscle contractions are irregular or uncoordinated, which causes food to get stuck sometimes in the esophagus or to come back up (regurgitation).

Dysphagia can make it hard to swallow food or liquids safely, or to swallow at all. People with dysphagia have difficulty swallowing. It may feel like food is stuck or moving very slowly down your esophagus. Dysphagia can occur when the muscles and nerves involved in swallowing do not work correctly.

Esophageal cancer results from the uncontrolled growth of cells in the esophagus. This type of cancer begins in the layer of tissue that lines the inside of the esophagus. As cancer progresses, it grows into deeper layers of the esophagus and sometimes spreads to other areas of the body.

Gastric cancer, also called stomach cancer, occurs most often in men over the age of 40. It is less common in the U.S. than in other parts of the world. There are many types of gastric cancer. The most common type - adenocarcinoma - begins in the cells that line the inside of the stomach.

A hiatal hernia occurs when the upper part of your stomach bulges through the large muscle separating your abdomen and chest.

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) occurs when reflux occurs regularly, with increased frequency and duration of reflux episodes. Reflux causes bothersome symptoms. Many people experience reflux-episodes when the stomach’s content wash back up in the stomach or mouth. In most people, these episodes are brief and do not cause ongoing problems.

The mediastinum is the area of the chest between the lungs that houses the heart, windpipe, esophagus, and thymus gland. Both non-cancerous (benign) and cancerous (malignant) masses can develop in the mediastinum. These masses may be tumors or cysts, and they can occur in all three areas of the mediastinum: the anterior (front), middle, and posterior (back).

Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (TOS) is caused by the compression or “pinching” of nerves and blood vessels in the space in the lower part of the neck, above the clavicle, across the first rib, and through the upper part of the arm.

Zenker’s diverticulum is a rare condition that makes it difficult to swallow food and liquids. In this disorder, a large pouch (called a diverticulum) develops in a weak area between the pharynx (throat) and upper esophagus (the food tube that reaches from the throat to the stomach). The pouch can interfere with swallowing, and food can get trapped it. Zenker’s diverticulum is more common in older people.

Esophageal disorders affect the muscular tube connecting the throat with the stomach and can derive from congenital conditions, or they can be acquired later in life.

Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AAT deficiency) is an inherited condition that raises your risk for lung and liver disease. Alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) is a protein that protects the lungs.

Asthma is a condition in which your airways narrow. This can make breathing difficult and trigger coughing, a whistling sound (wheezing) when you breathe out and shortness of breath.

Bronchiectasis is a condition in which the airways become widened, and mucus accumulates and pools in them. This pooling of mucus leads to a cycle of inflammation, infection, and progressive airway destruction. Bronchiectasis can be caused by recurrent or lingering lung infections, or by immune and genetic disorders.

The chest is a muscular, bony cage that contains and protects your heart, lungs, esophagus, and liver. It includes the rib cage, sternum, and thoracic vertebrae, along with connective tissue and muscles. Tumors can grow in the chest wall - both non-cancerous (benign) and cancerous (malignant) in nature.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a combined diagnosis of both emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Patients with COPD have difficulty breathing that typically progresses over time. Smoking is the leading cause of COPD. Most people with this disease are former or current smokers. However, COPD can be caused by other conditions, such as alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, or by excessive exposure to lung irritants, such as air pollution, chemical fumes, or dust.

Cystic fibrosis is a genetically inherited disorder that affects about 30,000 people in the U.S. This disorder results from a gene mutation and is characterized by abnormal function of virtually every organ system of the body, including the pancreas, liver, digestive tract, reproductive organs, sinuses, and lungs. The abnormal function of these organ systems results from buildup of abnormally thick mucus that leads to a cycle of progressive inflammation, infection, and damage.

Lung cancer may originate in the lungs (primary cancer), or it may start elsewhere in the body and spread to the lungs (secondary cancer). There are two main types of lung cancer. Small cell lung cancer is a fast-growing cancer. It may be limited in nature, meaning it affects only one lung or its surrounding tissue, or it may be extensive, meaning that it has metastasized (spread) to other parts of the body. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is more common, making up about 85% of all lung cancers. When discovered in its earliest stages, NSCLC is one of the most treatable cancers.

The mediastinum is the area of the chest between the lungs that houses the heart, windpipe, esophagus, and thymus gland. Both non-cancerous (benign) and cancerous (malignant) masses can develop in the mediastinum. These masses may be tumors or cysts, and they can occur in all three areas of the mediastinum: the anterior (front), middle, and posterior (back).

Pulmonary fibrosis is a type of lung disease that causes scarring of lung tissue. When this tissue becomes thick and hardened, the lungs do not expand and retract normally, which makes it difficult to breathe. People with pulmonary fibrosis often have shortness of breath and low oxygen levels, and they frequently experience difficulty exercising.

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a condition caused by high blood pressure in the arteries that carry blood from your heart to your lungs. In patients with pulmonary hypertension, the heart has to work harder to pump blood to the lungs. Over time, pulmonary hypertension can weaken the heart and, ultimately, cause heart failure. Untreated, pulmonary hypertension is almost always fatal.