Douglas Wood, MD

What has your journey been as a surgeon?

After completing my training in Massachusetts, I was recruited to Seattle to head a new general thoracic surgery section at UW Medicine, now the leading referral center for patients from all over the Pacific Northwest. Since coming here, I’ve earned a reputation as a national and international expert in the management of complex airway disease, end-stage lung disease and thoracic cancers and become the chair of the UW Department of Surgery. Along with treating patients, I’m also a professor who is passionate about training tomorrow’s surgeons. I hold the Henry N. Harkins Endowed Chair in Surgery at UW and have been a visiting professor at over 50 institutions worldwide. Over the years, I’ve also had the opportunity to play a major role in surgical and oncologic organizations, including as president of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons and director of the American Board of Thoracic Surgery.

How do you approach care?

For every patient I see, I try to take care of you as if you were a member of my own family. I strongly believe in giving you a prompt and efficient evaluation and clear explanations. Understanding all of your options helps you make good decisions about your care. One of the most important thing we can do as your care team is to complete your work-up and then define a treatment plan for you within a few days of your first phone call to our office so that you have the answers you need to move forward.

Provider Background

Specialty: Surgery

Area of clinical practice

Thoracic cancers

Esophageal cancer

My clinical expertise is in thoracic surgery and thoracic oncology, which includes not only the lungs, but also other structures of the chest, such as the esophagus, the mediastinum and the chest wall. The diseases I treat include esophageal cancer, sarcoma, mesothelioma and pulmonary and respiratory diseases.

Lung cancer

Lung cancer care is a main focus of my work at Fred Hutch as well as nationally and internationally. I’ve served as chair of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Lung Cancer Screening Panel and vice-chair of the NCCN Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Panel. These panels develop guidelines to help ensure people around the country who are at risk for or have lung cancer get screenings and treatments that are supported by evidence and approved by experts in the field. I also work extensively on noncancerous lung diseases, including emphysema. In addition to my clinical work, I’m also a scientist, with more than 20 research grants and 200 publications.