Dr. Ghulam Abbas, MD, MHCM, FACS

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Get to know Thoracic Surgeon Dr. Ghulam Abbas, who serves patients in West Virginia.

An experienced Thoracic surgeon, Dr. Abbas is Director of CAMC / Vandalia Cancer Care and leader of their Thoracic Surgery program

He enhances access to advanced esophageal and Lung surgery for all West Virginians, the majority of which are performed with robotic technology.

Serving as a Professor in the Department of  Surgery at WVU School of Medicine, Charleston Campus. Prior to joining CAMC in Charleston,  Dr. Abbas was chief to Thoracic Surgery for WVU Heart and Vascular Institute, where he was pivotal in building one of the best thoracic programs in the country.  Prior to that, he served as an assistant professor in the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Medical Center for eight years. He also served as the chairman of the Department of Surgery at UPMC Passavant.

Internationally recognized, Dr. Abbas performs robotic lung sparing surgery for lung cancer and Robotic  esophagectomy for esophageal cancer. His clinical interests include endoscopic and robotic  esophageal surgery for achalasia (POEM), Zenker’s diverticulum, Barrett’s esophagus, hiatal hernia, and GERD. He is also an expert in robotic surgery for complex lung cancer resection, first rib resection for thoracic outlet syndrome, thymectomy for thymoma and myasthenia gravis, neurogenic tumors, and chest wall tumor resection and reconstruction.

Dr. Abbas complements CAMC existing services by creating a center for esophageal diseases, a comprehensive lung cancer program, center for airway diseases, center of excellence for thoracic outlet syndrome.. Innovative procedures, like GPS-guided surgery for lung cancer, image-guided hybrid thoracic surgery, and peroral endoscopic myotomy for achalasia, will enable patients to have the least invasive solutions for their complex medical conditions.

Educated in Pakistan, Dr. Abbas earned his medical degree from the Medical College at Aga Khan University in 1994. He then went on to complete his internship at Jinnah Sindh Medical Centre.

Furthering his training in the United States, he performed his residency in general surgery at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in 2002, followed by his fellowship in thoracic surgery at Rush University Medical Center in 2004. Dr. Abbas subsequently obtained advanced training in minimally invasive lung and esophageal surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. In 2013, he received his Master in Health Care Management degree from Harvard University.

The doctor is board-certified in surgery by the American Board of Surgery, and in thoracic and cardiac surgery by the American Board of Thoracic Surgery.

In affiliation with several professional and scientific societies, Dr. Abbas is a member of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, the Society of Robotic Surgery, the International Society of Minimally Invasive Cardiothoracic Surgery, the General Thoracic Surgical Club, and the American College of Healthcare Executives. He is also a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (FACS).

Thoracic surgery is the field of medicine involved in the surgical treatment of organs inside the thorax. Cardiothoracic surgeons are medical doctors who specialize in surgical procedures inside the thorax, which may involve the heart, lungs, esophagus, and other organs in the chest. Alongside performing surgery, they also diagnose and treat diseases of these organs.

Throughout his line of work, Dr. Abbas has been an invited speaker at many international conferences on lung and esophageal cancer. He is the author of numerous peer-reviewed scientific articles and book chapters. 

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