The Department and Clinic of Thoracic Surgery of the Medical University of Silesia in Katowice educates students of the 5th and 6th year of the Faculty of Medicine, the 2nd and 3rd year of Emergency Medical Services, as well as English-speaking students of the ERASMUS exchange program. Classes and seminars are held in the Clinic, in the operating block, as well as in the Didactics and Medical Simulation Center in Zabrze. The Clinic's academic staff also conduct lectures on surgical and medical emergency procedures for students of the 6th year of the Faculty of Medicine and the 2nd and 3rd year of Medical Rescue.
There is a Student Science Club at the Department.
The Department and Clinic of Thoracic Surgery at the Medical University of Silesia in Katowice has many years of experience in the treatment of chest diseases. One of the main tasks of the Department is the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer. Acting as part of the multi-specialized team, the Department of Thoracic Surgery performs fast diagnostics of patients with suspected lung cancer (endoscopic procedures- ie bronchofiberoscopy, EBUS / EUS, tumor biopsies under CT and USG control), and if the diagnosis is confirmed - operational treatment. Annually, over 200 patients are operated on due to non-small cell lung cancer. The largest percentage of lung anatomical resections is lobectomy, while in selected cases segmentectomies and pneumonectomies are performed. Every patient treated surgically at the Department and Clinic of Thoracic Surgery in Zabrze remains under constant control of the outpatient clinic, and all medical data necessary to assess long-term treatment results are stored in a special database. In addition to lung cancer, in the group of oncological diseases, which the Department deals with, we distinguish: esophageal cancer, pleural cancer, chest wall, mediastinum and thyroid gland.