Benjamin Wei1, Jin Ye Yeo2
1Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham Medical Center, Birmingham VA Medical Center, Birmingham, AL, USA; 2CCTS Editorial Office, AME Publishing Company
Correspondence to: Jin Ye Yeo. CCTS Editorial Office, AME Publishing Company. Email: ccts@amegroups.com
This interview can be cited as: Wei B, Yeo JY. Meeting the Editorial Board Member of CCTS: Dr. Benjamin Wei. Curr Chall Thorac Surg. 2025. Available from: https://ccts.amegroups.org/post/view/meeting-the-editorial-board-member-of-ccts-dr-benjamin-wei.
Expert introduction
Dr. Benjamin Wei (Figure 1) is currently a Professor of Surgery in the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery and the director of the UAB Cardiothoracic Surgery Residency Program. He received his undergraduate degree from Yale University before continuing on to Columbia College of Physicians & Surgeons, where he received his medical degree in 2005. Following medical school, he completed an internship and residency in general surgery at New York Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia from 2005-2010 and a cardiothoracic fellowship at Duke University from 2010-2013. He came to the University of Alabama at Birmingham in August of 2013.
Dr. Wei has a particular interest in surgical education. He has helped develop multiple resources for cardiothoracic and surgical trainees. He serves as the program director for the thoracic surgery residency at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr. Wei specializes in robotic-assisted and video-assisted thoracic surgery, lung and esophageal cancer surgery, surgery for gastroesophageal reflux disease, paraesophageal hernias, and also esophageal motility disorders. His other areas of expertise include chest wall reconstruction for pectus excavatum/carinatum and organ procurement for lung transplantation.
Figure 1 Dr. Benjamin Wei
Interview
CCTS: What first drew you to the field of cardiothoracic surgery, and what motivated you to specialize in robotic-assisted and video-assisted thoracic surgery?
Dr. Wei: I became interested in thoracic surgery as a general surgery resident at Columbia. As interns, we would place chest tubes, perform tracheostomies, and help manage the thoracic surgical service. During my residency, I was involved in an open lobectomy at a community hospital with a surgeon. I remember being blown away by the intricate anatomy of the lung and the precision of the case. I had great mentors and role models in Dr. Josh Sonett and Matt Bacchetta at Columbia. I decided to pursue a career in general thoracic surgery because of the variety and complexity of the operations (we do endoscopic/bronchoscopic procedures, minimally invasive/robotic operations, and big open surgeries) and the interesting mixture of oncologic and non-oncologic issues we deal with. During my fellowship, I was exposed to robotic surgery, which was in its infancy in the early 2010s. Because I saw huge potential in robotics, I decided to come to UAB for my first job as an attending to work with Dr. Robert Cerfolio, who was then (and remains now) a world-renowned robotic thoracic surgeon. I felt that robotics offers incredible benefits for the surgeon in terms of ergonomics and fatigue; furthermore, it allows the surgeon to do things quite easily that would be quite complex with video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) or laparoscopy, and decreases the chance of conversion to open surgery.
CCTS: Your expertise includes lung and esophageal cancer surgery. What recent advancements have been the most impactful in improving surgical outcomes for these cancers?
Dr. Wei: There are two trends at the present time that are influencing surgical care for patients with lung cancer: the advent of immunotherapy as a modality for patients with stage II and III lung cancer, and the recent research demonstrating the benefits of sublobar resection for patients with stage IA1-IA2 lung cancer. The data for neoadjuvant chemo-immunotherapy followed by surgical resection shows an impressive advantage in terms of survival, which I believe will expand the role of surgery in these patients. With regards to sublobar resection, I think that when properly applied, sublobar resection can be beneficial to patients in terms of decreasing the impact on their breathing while maintaining excellent oncologic outcomes. Choosing the best or most appropriate amount of lung to resect for a patient has become an important part of their evaluation.
CCTS: As Director of the UAB Cardiothoracic Surgery Residency Program, what are the biggest challenges and rewards in training the next generation of surgeons?
Dr. Wei: One significant challenge in training is how to help residents grow and mature as surgeons while optimizing outcomes for our patients. These two goals can sometimes seem to be diametrically opposed, as most of the time, a less experienced surgeon will take a longer amount of time or make more errors in the operating room than a more experienced surgeon. Finding how to balance these opposing goals can be difficult. For me, the best reward of training surgeons is seeing them succeed in their careers; I am especially proud of those who enter the academic world and thus themselves train future surgeons and push the envelope of knowledge in our field.
CCTS: What advice would you give to aspiring cardiothoracic surgeons who want to excel in both clinical practice and/or surgical education?
Dr. Wei: There are a few pieces of advice that I give to trainees. First, write things down. In the world of cloud computing, this is especially easy. Keep documents that describe the steps of the operation, hints for yourself, and “tips” and “tricks”. During residency, it is invaluable when attending surgeons prefer for you to build on your shared past with them, rather than starting anew each time you set foot in the operating room. It also helps to refresh your memory, especially in the early years of your career, when you are faced with doing a case that you maybe only have seen once or twice during residency. Second, pay attention to detail. You can do a perfect operation, and the patient can still have a major complication. So, you should strive for perfection (though you may rarely achieve it). Every step or decision made in the operating room should have a reason behind it. Try to understand the reasons behind how and why things are done, and try to reflect on them and understand if you need to change your mind/reasoning or the way you do things. That leads to my third point, which is to maintain a growth mindset during your training and after. The end of residency is by no means the end of your development. You need to continue to evolve as a surgeon if you want to be current and do the best for your patients. It is uncomfortable to grow, but you need to embrace this discomfort and the pain of self-awareness if you want to reach your full potential.
CCTS: As an Editorial Board Member of CCTS, what are your expectations and aspirations for the journal?
Dr. Wei: There is a lot of cardiothoracic surgical research out there that is valuable, but for one reason or another, it cannot find traction in the traditional cardiothoracic surgical journals. I believe that CCTS offers an important venue for disseminating this information to the world so that we can understand the truth and make the best decisions for our patients.