Background: The aim of this study was to determine the current level of knowledge or misunderstanding regarding thoracic surgery for specialist physicians who work in various fields in our hospital and to could help them have a more productive work atmosphere.

Methods: Ninety-seven specialists from 31 different departments in our hospital gave their consent to answer our questionnaire concerning thoracic surgery. They were asked to answer the choices, and the data obtained was then analyzed using the SPSS version 10.0 software program.

Results: The knowledge if the thoracic surgeons treat spontaneous pneumothorax, lung hydatid cysts, and lung cancer was correct (89-96%). However, they exhibited only moderate knowledge (50%) regarding bronchiectasis, lung metastasis, regional hyperhidrosis, and surgical diagnosis of interstitial lung diseases. Furthermore, one-third of the physicians believed that videothoracoscopy is a kind of bronchoscopy performed using video under local anesthesia. Also, some misunderstood that thoracic vertebra surgery is related to thoracic surgery.

Conclusion: Our study results suggested that even specialists may have missing or wrong knowledge regarding thoracic surgery. Considering that almost all patients who are admitted to a thoracic surgery outpatient clinic are referred from other specialities, physicians from other fields should endeavor to learn as much as possible about thoracic surgery so medical facilities can provide a more effective working atmosphere.

Keywords : Interest; specialist; thoracic surgery