Canadian Association of Thoracic Surgeons – Enabling Canadian Thoracic Surgeons to provide the highest level of care to every patient, every time.

CATS Vision

Enabling Canadian Thoracic Surgeons to provide the highest level of care to every patient, every time.

CATS Mission

A collaborative network that promotes excellence in patient centered care, fosters innovation, and enhances quality through education, research and advocacy.

The Canadian Association of Thoracic Surgeons represents thoracic surgeons in Canada. We provide subspecialty clinical care for patients with a wide range of pleural, mediastinal, esophageal and gastric diseases. Our patients suffer from complex benign and malignant diseases, and our training is therefore very broad. We educate students and residents. Our success in postgraduate surgical education is well known. Canadian trained thoracic surgeons have a world-wide reputation for clinical excellence, and many of our former trainees hold thoracic surgical leadership positions throughout the world. The association is actively involved in clinical and laboratory research. We are also involved in health care planning issues such as thoracic surgical manpower, standards of practice, and delivery of thoracic surgical oncology services.

Evolution of Thoracic Surgery in Canada

Authors: Jean Deslaurier, Bill Nelems, and F. Griffith Pearson
All 447 pages – now available in PDF (412 Mb)

Canadian Surgical Forum 2023

2023- September 20-23, The Fairmont Hotel Vancouver & Hyatt Regency, Vancouver, BC

Visit the CSF website for registration and the Full CSF Program.

CATS Program
- Abstract Presentation Schedules (for Podiums and Presenting Posters)

CATS Highlights include:

Hands-on Post-graduate Course on Chest Wall Trauma
Sessions on Lung Cancer, Esophageal Cancer, Mesothelioma, Mediastinum, Thoracic Surgeon Engagement – Life Beyond Surgery, and a joint session with Canadian Society of Surgical Oncology on Gastric Cancer
Dr. Sean Grondin Memorial Lecture given by Dr. Jane Lamaire and Dr. Rachel Grimminck
Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility Invited Lecturer Dr. Ikenna Okereke from Henry Ford Hospital
Pearson Invited Lecturer Dr. Nasser K Altorki from New York Hospital, Cornell Medical Center
STS Invited Lecturer Dr. James Huang from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
ESTS Invited Lecturer Dr. Isabelle Opitz from University Hospital Zurich