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Renowned Lung and Esophageal Program Expands

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Norton Thoracic Institute Doctors Now in West Valley

Norton Thoracic Institute is home to the top rated lung transplant program in the western United States, and also specializes in the evaluation, diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the lungs, chest or esophagus. Headquartered in downtown Phoenix at Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center, Norton Thoracic Institute recently expanded its services in the Valley. 

With several new doctors on board, Norton Thoracic Institute is now seeing patients in the West Valley at Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Westgate Medical Center.  The Norton Thoracic Institute surgeons providing clinic visits and diagnostic testing at St. Joseph’s Westgate are Michael Smith, MD, and Sumeet Mittal, MD.

“It is a great privilege to be part of Norton Thoracic Institute,” says Dr. Smith, the institute’s associate chief of thoracic surgery and surgical director of lung transplantation. “Norton makes such a positive difference in the lives of patients suffering from a variety of ailments, including life-threatening cancers and advanced lung disease.”

Dr. Smith specializes in thoracic oncology, lung transplantation, and esophageal surgery. He earned his medical degree from the University of California, San Francisco, completing general surgery training and thoracic surgery training at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri.

Dr. Mittal is new to the Norton team and serves as surgical director of its esophageal and foregut program. An expert in many esophageal diseases, Dr. Mittal earned his medical degree from the All Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, India, and then completed his residency at Creighton University in Omaha, Neb., followed by a fellowship in thoracic and foregut surgery at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

“Gastroesophageal reflux disease—or GERD—may well be the epidemic of our time, with millions of undiagnosed cases. This condition is not to be ignored, as it can lead to esophageal cancer and may contribute to lung disease,” says Dr. Mittal who was the director of esophageal surgery at Creighton University School of Medicine prior to joining the Norton team. “The most common treatment of GERD only addresses its symptoms and not the underlying issue. At Norton Thoracic Institute, we treat the symptoms and the root of the problem to improve long-term outcomes for patients with this condition.”

In 2015, Norton Thoracic Institute was ranked the second busiest lung transplant program in the country with shorter than average wait times and above average one-year survival rates. Since opening in 2007, its lung transplant team has performed more than 450 lung transplants for patients from more than 30 different states. Norton Thoracic also provides a second opinion service for lung cancer patients, conducts groundbreaking research, and trains young physicians to improve patients’ outcomes. 

 

Publish date: 

Friday, September 16, 2016

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