Daniel S. Oh, MD

Dr. Oh is the medical director of the St. Jude Center for Thoracic and Esophageal Diseases and is a clinical associate professor of surgery at USC.

Dr. Oh specializes in general thoracic surgery, which includes benign and malignant diseases of the lung, pleura, esophagus, mediastinum, and chest wall. He has an interest in applying and expanding the role of minimally invasive and robotic technology in the diagnosis and treatment of the conditions afflicting his patients. Recognizing the limitations of standard laparoscopic surgery and thoracoscopic surgery or VATS (video assisted thoracoscopic surgery), he has been utilizing robotic technology with the da Vinci system to perform surgery when appropriate. This technique allows for operations to be performed through small incisions with less tissue trauma, less pain, and shorter recovery. Approximately 90 percent of Dr. Oh’s major operations are performed with robotic assistance, and he has performed hundreds of such cases since 2011.

Dr. Oh is a firm believer of multidisciplinary care. He takes a direct and proactive approach in working with his colleagues in gastroenterology, pulmonology, medical oncology, radiation oncology, radiology, and pathology. By taking a team approach and tailoring treatment to the patient’s specific situation, he strives to deliver state-of-the-art care to achieve optimal outcomes.

Dr. Oh obtained his surgical training at two internationally recognized institutions in esophageal and lung surgery – USC and Harvard Medical School (Brigham and Women’s Hospital). He has gained extensive experience in the full spectrum of thoracic surgery, including minimally invasive lung resection and minimally invasive esophageal surgery. Unique among thoracic surgeons, Dr. Oh also actively performs advanced endoscopic and bronchoscopic procedures as he believes a disease-specific approach is better than a technology-specific approach.

Dr. Oh is active in research and spends his non-clinical time working with Intuitive Surgical in researching outcomes of robotic-assisted surgery, improving training technology for surgeons, and helping assess and develop new technologies and procedures that can improve outcomes. His work has been published in numerous professional journals and he gives lectures internationally.