What is the difference between thoracic surgery and heart surgery?

Definitions: Thoracic surgery is any surgery in your chest. Common examples are surgery on the lungs, heart or esophagus. Heart surgery is, of course, confined to the heart. All heart surgeons are thoracic surgeons.

Can be different: Heart surgery is surgery of the heart and great blood vessels thoracic surgery is surgery of the heart and everything in the chest general thoracic surgery is surgery of everything in the chest except the heart and great blood vessels.

Term use: Thoracic surgeons operate on the chest and the organs within: heart, lungs, esophagus, chest wall. You may also find a common title of "cardiothoracic surgeon" or in more specialized regions a distinction will be made between heart surgeons and non-heart surgeons, i.e. "cardiovascular surgeons" vs "thoracic surgeons".

Organs: Cardiac surgery involves the heart and great vessels. Thoracic surgery involves the lungs, chest wall, esophagus, and great vessels. Cardiac surgeons are also thoracic trained, but not all thoracic surgeons are cardiac trained.