Tracey L. Weigel, MD
Dr. Tracey L. Weigel is a thoracic and cardiac surgeon at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, New York. Since she joined the facility in 2016, she has helped develop a robotic thoracic oncology and foregut program that allows her to provide high-quality care for patients diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma, lung cancer, and esophageal cancer.[1]
Dr. Weigel cites the use of low-dose CT screening for early detection of lung cancer and the advances in minimally invasive surgery techniques as among the most exciting innovations that she uses in her practice. She hopes for more technical developments that will allow her to continue advancing curative thoracic surgeries.[2]
Education and Career
Dr. Weigel earned her medical degree at the University of Rochester School of Medicine in Rochester, New York, and then completed an internship and residency in General Surgery at Rhode Island Hospital-Brown University. She also completed fellowships in Surgical Oncology and Thoracic Oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York and then pursued a second residency in Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of Wisconsin Hospitals & Clinics in Madison, Wisconsin.[1]
After spending several years at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine as a Professor and Chief of Thoracic Surgery, she accepted a position as an Assistant Professor at the University of Pittsburgh. At Pittsburgh, Dr, Weigel was given the opportunity to build a minimally invasive thoracic surgery program. Speaking of that challenge, she says, “We built one of the busiest minimally invasive thoracic surgery practices in the USA, focusing on minimally invasive surgery for thoracic malignancies and complex benign esophageal problems. We worked hard to develop new techniques to perform minimally invasive surgery for both esophageal and lung cancer.”[2]
Dr. Weigel joined Westchester Medical Center in 2016 and since then has created a robotic oncology program for cancer patients.
Research
Dr. Weigel has authored or coauthored many scientific articles that have been published in highly respected peer-reviewed medical journals including Lung Cancer, The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, Surgical Clinics of North America, and The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery.[1]
Some of her publications include:[3]
Humeral Head Fracture Dislocation with Displacement into the Mediastinum: A Case Report. Agarwalla A, Rawicki NL, Weigel TL, Asprinio DE.JBJS Case Connect. 2021 Feb 19;11(1). doi: 10.2106/JBJS.CC.20.00437.PMID: 33617154
Management of air leaks post-surgical lung resection. Bronstein ME, Koo DC, Weigel TL.Ann Transl Med. 2019 Aug;7(15):361. doi: 10.21037/atm.2019.04.30.PMID: 31516907
A Twelve-Year Consecutive Case Experience in Thoracic Reconstruction. Chen JT, Bonneau LA, Weigel TL, Maloney JD, Castro F, Shulzhenko N, Bentz ML.Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open. 2016 Mar 17;4(3):e638. doi: 10.1097/GOX.0000000000000603. eCollection 2016 Mar.PMID: 27257568
Nuclear EGFR protein expression predicts poor survival in early-stage non-small cell lung cancer. Traynor AM, Weigel TL, Oettel KR, Yang DT, Zhang C, Kim K, Salgia R, Iida M, Brand TM, Hoang T, Campbell TC, Hernan HR, Wheeler DL.Lung Cancer. 2013 Jul;81(1):138-41. doi 10.1016/j.lungcan.2013.03.020. Epub 2013 Apr 28.PMID: 23628526
Primary cardiac sarcoma. Hamidi M, Moody JS, Weigel TL, Kozak KR.Ann Thorac Surg. 2010 Jul;90(1):176-81. doi: 10.1016/j.athoracsur.2010.03.065.PMID: 20609770
