The Ochsner Cancer Institute Earns Prestigious Three-Star Rating from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons

Lung lobectomies recognized for the highest category of quality

NEW ORLEANS, La. – The Ochsner Cancer Institute has earned a distinguished three-star rating from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) for its patient care and lung cancer resection (lung lobectomy) outcomes. The three-star rating, which denotes the highest category of quality, places the Ochsner Cancer Institute in the top 2.5% of thoracic surgery programs in the United States and Canada.

Lung cancer is the number one cause of cancer deaths for both men and women in the U.S. Ochsner’s thoracic surgery team offers the most advanced diagnostic and treatment options, including robotic surgery and robotic bronchoscopy. One such procedure, lung lobectomy, is the removal, also known as resection, of the lobe or lobes of the lung affected by lung cancer.

The STS star rating system is one of the most sophisticated and highly regarded overall measures of quality in health care, rating the benchmarked outcomes of cardiothoracic surgery programs in the United States and Canada. The General Thoracic Surgery Database (GTSD) star ratings are derived by testing whether the participant's composite or domain score is significantly different from the overall STS average for lobectomy for lung cancer performed by GTSD participants.

“The Ochsner Cancer Institute offers a high level of cancer care, allowing patients to focus on their treatment while multiple care team members guide them throughout every step of their journey. Our providers work together to determine the best course of treatment for our patients with the goal of the best possible outcomes. It is a privilege to receive the STS three-star rating and to be included among the most notable in the country for general thoracic surgery,” said Brian Pettiford, MD, MBA, FACS, thoracic surgical oncology, Ochsner Health. “As the largest lung cancer program in the region, we are uniquely equipped to treat lung cancer patients, continuously pushing research forward and developing new and better ways to prevent, diagnose and treat all forms of lung cancer.”

Ochsner’s thoracic surgery program is part of a multidisciplinary specialty team that includes pulmonary medicine, thoracic pathology, radiation therapy and medical oncology.

STS General Thoracic Surgery Public Reporting offers a comparison of GTSD and national outcomes, demonstrating the high performance of GTSD participants. The latest analysis of data for lung cancer resection covers a three-year period, from January 2020 to December 2022.

“The Society of Thoracic Surgeons congratulates STS National Database participants who have received three-star ratings,” said David M. Shahian, MD, chair of the Task Force on Quality Measurement. “Participation in the Database and public reporting demonstrates a commitment to quality improvement in health care delivery and provides patients and their families with meaningful information to help them make informed decisions about health care.”

For more than 80 years, Ochsner has been dedicated to cancer research and new cancer therapy development, bringing innovations to treatment with more clinical trials than anywhere else in Louisiana. It is accredited by the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American College of Radiology, the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (Bone Marrow Transplant) and the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers. Cancer care at Ochsner is recognized by U.S. News & World Report, ranking as high performing in uterine, prostate, lung, and colon cancer surgeries. Ochsner’s ear, nose and throat specialty is also ranked by U.S. News & World Report as a top 50 program in the country, which includes head and neck surgical oncology. The Ochsner Cancer Institute treats more than 40,000 patients each year and has cared for patients from all 50 states and 28 countries. Each patient’s care team can include as many as 20 multidisciplinary cancer specialists working together to provide high-quality treatment. In 2022, more than 300,000 preventive cancer screenings were performed at Ochsner facilities across its system.

The STS National Database was established in 1989 as an initiative for quality improvement and patient safety among cardiothoracic surgeons. The Database includes four components: the Adult Cardiac Surgery Database (ACSD), the Congenital Heart Surgery Database (CHSD), the GTSD, and the mechanical circulatory support database (Intermacs).

The GTSD—the largest and most robust clinical thoracic surgical database in the United States and Canada—contains more than 616,000 general thoracic surgery procedure records and has approximately 1,000 participating physicians. Almost 35% of GTSD participants are currently enrolled in public reporting.

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About Ochsner Health

Ochsner Health is an integrated healthcare system with a mission to Serve, Heal, Lead, Educate and Innovate. Celebrating more than 80 years of service, it leads nationally in cancer care, cardiology, neurosciences, liver and kidney transplants and pediatrics, among other areas. Ochsner is consistently named both the top hospital and top children’s hospital in Louisiana by U.S. News & World Report. The not-for-profit organization is inspiring healthier lives and stronger communities through its Healthy State by 2030 initiative, a bold and collaborative plan to realize a healthier Louisiana. Its focus is on preventing diseases and providing patient-centered care that is accessible, affordable, convenient, and effective. Ochsner Health pioneers new treatments, deploys emerging technologies and performs groundbreaking research, including 4,000 patients enrolled in 685 clinical studies in 2022. It has more than 37,000 employees and over 4,700 employed and affiliated physicians in over 90 medical specialties and subspecialties. It operates 46 hospitals and more than 370 health and urgent care centers across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and the Gulf South; and its cutting-edge Connected Health digital medicine program is caring for patients beyond its walls. In 2022, Ochsner Health treated more than 1.4 million people from every state and 62 countries. As Louisiana’s top healthcare educator of physicians, Ochsner Health and its partners educate thousands of healthcare professionals annually. To learn more, visit https://www.ochsner.org/.

About STS

The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) is a not-for-profit organization that represents more than 7,300 surgeons, researchers, and allied health care professionals worldwide who are dedicated to ensuring the best possible outcomes for surgeries of the heart, lung, and esophagus, as well as other surgical procedures within the chest. The Society’s mission is to enhance the ability of cardiothoracic surgeons to provide the highest quality patient care through education, research, and advocacy.

[*User note: An STS National Database “Participant” is a cardiothoracic surgeon or group of cardiothoracic surgeons who agree to submit case records for analysis and comparison with benchmarking data for quality improvement initiatives. At the option of the surgeon or surgical group, the Participant can include a hospital and/or associated anesthesiologists (ACSD and CHSD).]