How to choose a cardiothoracic surgeon 2026: what Cardio-thoracic Surgery treats, how it differs from Cardiology and Respiratory Medicine, checking specialist registration, public and private fees and waiting, insurance

What does a cardiothoracic surgeon treat?

Cardio-thoracic Surgery is a surgical specialty whose scope is the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the heart and great vessels, the lungs and airways, the chest wall and the mediastinum (the area between the two lungs), and it also performs minimally invasive surgery and endoscopic examination and treatment, and it comes under The College of Surgeons of Hong Kong (Hong Kong Academy of Medicine, Specialty Descriptions, April 2025); the specialty's name on the Medical Council register is Cardio-thoracic Surgery (S31); for the Chinese and English names of other specialties, see Chinese–English table of medical specialties.

On the Medical Council register, Cardiology (S13), Paediatric Cardiology (S68) and Cardio-thoracic Surgery (S31) are three different specialties.

Which doctor follows up a particular heart, lung or chest problem, and whether to refer, is decided by the treating doctor according to the patient's condition.

How do I check whether a doctor is a Cardio-thoracic Surgery specialist?

On the Medical Council of Hong Kong website, choosing ‘Cardio-thoracic Surgery’ (S31) in the Specialist Register opens the list of doctors registered in that specialty; searching by name shows the specialty and the specialist registration number in the specialist registration field of the doctor's record. For the steps, see How to check a doctor's registration and specialty.

A doctor must be on the Specialist Register to hold himself or herself out as a specialist, and can use only the title of the specialty in which he or she is registered (Medical Council, Code of Professional Conduct for the Guidance of Registered Medical Practitioners, section 7, October 2022 revised edition).

For what qualification abbreviations on a name card mean, see What is FHKAM?.

How do I get a referral to public Cardio-thoracic Surgery? Can I book a private cardiothoracic surgeon directly?

To book a new appointment at a Hospital Authority specialist outpatient clinic, you need a referral letter issued by a locally registered doctor within the last three months; a letter from a private doctor is also accepted. Our analysis: for a private specialist, you can ask the hospital or clinic directly how to book; if you use medical insurance, whether a referral letter or pre-approval is needed depends on the policy terms, and you can ask the insurer first.

‘Eligible Persons’ in the table mainly means holders of a Hong Kong Identity Card and children under 11 who are Hong Kong residents; for details, see Public healthcare fee reform 2026.

For what a consultation fee quote generally includes, see Private specialist fees overview; for the booking steps, see How to book a public specialist outpatient clinic; for a general comparison of the two routes, see Public or private specialist?.

If your condition gets worse while you wait, you can contact the specialist outpatient clinic to ask for an earlier appointment; in an emergency, go to the Accident and Emergency Department.

How long is the wait for public cardio-thoracic surgery?

The waiting times the Hospital Authority regularly publishes do not list Cardio-thoracic Surgery separately; for reference, from October 2025 to September 2026 the median waiting time for stable new cases in Hospital Authority Surgery ranged from 28 to 43 weeks (about 6 to 10 months) across the seven hospital clusters (by former boundaries), and the data's next update is due on 29 January 2027. For the figures by cluster, see Public waiting time for Surgery (for reference).

How do I compare hospitals or medical centres?

When comparing, put the same item on the same basis. Private hospitals must have a fee schedule covering all chargeable items, and patients have the right to know the charges before treatment (Department of Health, Code of Practice for Private Hospitals, July 2026).

For each private hospital's fees, see Private hospital fees.

What should I check when using medical insurance for a cardiothoracic surgeon?

Before seeing a private specialist, confirm three things with the insurer: whether the policy covers specialist outpatient visits, whether it is limited to a designated medical network, and whether a referral letter or pre-approval is needed; see Using medical insurance for a private specialist.

The Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme covers only individual indemnity hospital insurance; outpatient insurance is outside the Scheme. The Standard Plan covers up to 1 outpatient or emergency consultation before a hospital stay or day surgery, and up to 3 follow-up outpatient visits within 90 days after discharge or day surgery, which must be directly related to the illness or injury requiring the hospital stay or day surgery, at HK$580 per visit and HK$3,000 per policy year (Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme, Standard Plan policy template, July 2022).

Some insurers offer pre-approval (commonly called ‘免找數’): if both the policy and the hospital offer direct billing, you can apply to the insurer before admission and the insurer pays the hospital directly; the approved amount is an estimate, and before discharge you still pay charges not listed in the ‘letter of guarantee’, such as the deductible, co-payment and items outside the cover (Insurance Authority, January 2024); see Medical insurance pre-approval.

What should I ask before booking? What should I bring to the first visit?

Is the doctor listed under Cardio-thoracic Surgery (S31) on the Medical Council's Specialist Register?

How much are the first consultation and follow-ups? What grade is the doctor?

Does the consultation fee include medicines? What tests might be needed this time, and roughly how much will they cost?

Is my medical insurance accepted, can the clinic bill the insurer directly, and is a referral letter or pre-approval needed?

If a procedure or admission is needed later, can a budget estimate of the service fees be provided first?

If surgery is needed, will the treatment plan be discussed together with other specialties?

What to bring: a referral letter (if any), previous test reports and a list of the medicines you are taking; see What to prepare before a specialist appointment.

Chest pain or coughing up blood: when should I call 999 or go to A&E straight away?

Call 999 straight away, without waiting for an appointment, for: severe chest pain with tightness or a feeling of pressure in the chest (Department of Health, First Aid booklet); chest pain that feels like squeezing, or that spreads to the arms, neck or jaw (UK NHS, Heart attack, March 2026). With chest pain, do not drive yourself. Where Hong Kong sources do not list a sign, the UK NHS is used; this site suggests going to A&E now, and calling 999 if you cannot get there yourself or it gets worse, for: severe difficulty breathing (NHS, Heart attack, March 2026); coughing up more than a few spots or streaks of blood, or coughing up blood with difficulty breathing, a very fast heartbeat, or pain in the chest or upper back (NHS, Coughing up blood, June 2024).

If you feel it is an emergency for any other reason, call 999 straight away too. The situations in which this site suggests calling 999, with the source for each, are listed in Why do we suggest calling 999?.

If it is not urgent and you are not sure whether you need a cardiothoracic surgeon, you can see a family doctor first; which specialty to be referred to is decided by the attending doctor according to your condition (see the questions below).

Frequently asked questions