 My name is Costantinos Puikides. I'm a thoracic surgeon here at Hackensack Meridian Health. The most common disorders that a patient would see a thoracic surgeon for would be lung cancer or lung nodules specifically for smokers. We also see quite a few patients for hiatal hernias and esophageal cancer. I spend as much time as I can with each patient. Usually when they're seeing me it's a very stressful part of their life so I take the time make sure patients don't feel rushed and are comfortable with any plan that we decide on. I truly enjoy the relationship between myself and my patients. I treat all the patients as if they're a family member so I take the time to answer their questions and really be with them be empathetic for what they're going through. The most common question I get is how the pathology they're seeing before is going to affect their life in the future. When will they be able to get back to work? When will they be able to feel like themselves again? So I really take the time to discuss what surgery would entail, how long their recovery would be, and set realistic expectations. Patients typically get back to normal when we do surgery and we make sure we pick surgery for the right patients.