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Dr. Brian Mitzman is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of Utah and Huntsman Cancer Institute, focusing on non-cardiac General Thoracic Surgery.
Dr. Mitzman completed formal cardiothoracic surgery training at the University of Chicago. His clinical interests concentrate on Thoracic Surgical Oncology, and specifically the application of robotics for complex tumors. He previously completed all the requirements for certification under the American Association of Thoracic Surgery Robotics Fellowship.
As a Huntsman Cancer Institute Investigator, Dr. Mitzman’s research interests focus on clinical outcomes and optimizing treatment approach for lung and esophageal cancer. His research has been presented at both the Society for Thoracic Surgeons and American Association of Thoracic Surgery annual meetings. He has also been an invited author on numerous textbook chapters utilized by both trainees and practicing thoracic surgeons.
Along with his research interests, Dr. Mitzman has a passion for surgical education and has held numerous national positions, including participating on the American College of Surgeons Operative Decision Making Workforce, the ACGME Milestones 2.0 Committee, and the STS Communications Taskforce. He currently serves as an editorial board member for the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery and the Annals of Thoracic Surgery, and as an Associate Editor of CTSNet (http://www.ctsnet.org). In addition, he serves as a peer-reviewer for other numerous high impact journals, including the Journal for Surgical Research and Innovations.
Clinical Locations
Clinic 1A, Thoracic
801-587-4470
Fax: (801) 585-7902
Cardiothoracic Surgery
Veterans Administration Medical Center
Board Certification and Academic Information
Academic Departments | Surgery
-
Assistant Professor (Clinical) |
Academic Divisions | Cardiothoracic Surgery |
Board Certification | American Board of Surgery American Board of Thoracic Surgery (Thoracic Surg) |
Patient Rating
The Patient Rating score is an average of all responses to care provider related questions on our nationally-recognized Press Ganey Patient Satisfaction Survey.
Responses are measured on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the best score.
Likelihood of recommending care provider
5.0/ 5

Care provider's explanation of condition/problem
4.9/ 5

Care provider's effort to include me in decisions
4.9/ 5

Wait time at clinic
4.7/ 5

Care provider's concern for questions & worries
4.9/ 5

Patient Comments
Patient comments are gathered from our Press Ganey Patient Satisfaction Survery and displayed in their entirety. Patients are de-identified for confidentiality and patient privacy.
UofU Patient
March 15, 2022
HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER
Dr. Mitzman was so thorough, direct and reassuring. Truly cares about the well-being of his patients and their family!
UofU Patient
February 22, 2022
HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER
What can I say everything was great.
UofU Patient
February 04, 2022
HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER
Excellent personnel - knowledgeable, helpful, efficient and compassionate.
UofU Patient
December 20, 2021
HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER
This was one of the best doctor / patient experiences I've ever had. Dr. Mitzman was excellent: complete and thorough descriptions and explanations - giving me total confidence in his handling my case.
UofU Patient
December 08, 2021
HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER
Dr. Mitzman was able to take away the anxiety I was feeling about the whole situation. He made me feel like I was important and what I was saying mattered.
UofU Patient
November 09, 2021
HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER
All staff members were kind and directed me thru each proceduce.
UofU Patient
October 18, 2021
HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER
Outstanding experience, very helpful
UofU Patient
September 17, 2021
HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER
Dr. Mitzman was wonderful, as was the entire staff.
UofU Patient
September 06, 2021
HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER
Again the whole staff at doctors everyone was so wonderful and so kind I never experienced such such a wonderful peaceful kind people in the hospital before
UofU Patient
August 30, 2021
HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER
Explained everything just fine, everyone is so kind and pleasant and caring
UofU Patient
August 23, 2021
HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER
Dr Mitzman is a really awesome dr I appreciate everything he did for me
UofU Patient
July 13, 2021
HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER
Dr. Mitzman has been very thorough in explaining procedures and taken the time to answer my questions. He has a wonderful bedside manner which Is missing In a lot of medical facilities today. He's very compassionate and at the same time direct when discussing medical issues. I have the greatest confidence in him and would recommend him to others. He gave me my life back.
UofU Patient
July 12, 2021
HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER
Doctor Mitzman is very personable, empathetic and upbeat. I feel so blessed to be cared for by him.
UofU Patient
June 09, 2021
HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER
can't say enough how much I appreciate everybody to staff the doctors everyone they are so wonderful and great
UofU Patient
June 01, 2021
HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER
Dr was very upfront and explained all options to us and risks involved and had a very genuine concern
UofU Patient
May 24, 2021
HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER
Very thorough and informative.
UofU Patient
April 19, 2021
HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER
Dr Mitzman is the best doctor I've ever had. He is very sharp, had read about my pathology report, was good at managing my expectations of the surgery and the appointment. He is so kind AND a good surgeon- a rare combination. His team (nurse & PA) also were so helpful!
UofU Patient
April 18, 2021
HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER
Always listens and I feel I'm the only patient at the moment.
UofU Patient
April 17, 2021
HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER
exceptional
UofU Patient
April 16, 2021
HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER
Dr Mitzman was very informative
UofU Patient
April 14, 2021
HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER
Dr. Mitzman did amazing work taking care of my cancer. He treated me in a kind and professional manner. I consider him an answer to my prayers.
UofU Patient
April 14, 2021
HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER
Dr Mitzman was amazing. I would highly recommend him.
UofU Patient
April 13, 2021
HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER
always excellent interaction!!
UofU Patient
March 23, 2021
HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER
I came in so worried and left so uplifted and calm. Dr Mitzman is amazing and explaining and answering all the things we were wanting to discuss.
UofU Patient
March 23, 2021
HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER
Great professional visit.
UofU Patient
February 24, 2021
HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER
answered all questions. always feels like I'm his only patient. wonderful competent doctor
UofU Patient
February 11, 2021
HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER
Dr Mitzman was awesome. He explained everything in detail and presented the possible outcomes.
UofU Patient
February 03, 2021
HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER
excellent provider
UofU Patient
January 29, 2021
HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER
good
UofU Patient
December 21, 2020
HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER
this was a post surgery exam, so no real discussion about needed for my condition and treatment. surgery went well and tumor was benign.
UofU Patient
December 19, 2020
HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER
Dr. Mitzman was excellent in his seeking to understand my problem. He was thorough in his explanation of my diagnosis, treatment options, and the ramifications of the options. Not only is his knowledge excellent but so are his people skills.
UofU Patient
October 26, 2020
HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER
the most thorough explanations of the issues I have ever had
UofU Patient
October 20, 2020
HUNTSMAN CANCER CENTER
Good
Dr. Brian Mitzman is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of Utah and Huntsman Cancer Institute, focusing on non-cardiac General Thoracic Surgery.
Dr. Mitzman completed formal cardiothoracic surgery training at the University of Chicago. His clinical interests concentrate on Thoracic Surgical Oncology, and specifically the application of robotics for complex tumors. He previously completed all the requirements for certification under the American Association of Thoracic Surgery Robotics Fellowship.
As a Huntsman Cancer Institute Investigator, Dr. Mitzman’s research interests focus on clinical outcomes and optimizing treatment approach for lung and esophageal cancer. His research has been presented at both the Society for Thoracic Surgeons and American Association of Thoracic Surgery annual meetings. He has also been an invited author on numerous textbook chapters utilized by both trainees and practicing thoracic surgeons.
Along with his research interests, Dr. Mitzman has a passion for surgical education and has held numerous national positions, including participating on the American College of Surgeons Operative Decision Making Workforce, the ACGME Milestones 2.0 Committee, and the STS Communications Taskforce. He currently serves as an editorial board member for the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery and the Annals of Thoracic Surgery, and as an Associate Editor of CTSNet (http://www.ctsnet.org). In addition, he serves as a peer-reviewer for other numerous high impact journals, including the Journal for Surgical Research and Innovations.
Academic Locations
Board Certification and Academic Information
Academic Departments | Surgery
-
Assistant Professor (Clinical) |
Academic Divisions | Cardiothoracic Surgery |
Board Certification | American Board of Surgery American Board of Thoracic Surgery (Thoracic Surg) |
Education History
Fellowship | University of Chicago Medicine Cardiothoracic Surgery, Thoracic Track Fellow, 2018 |
Residency | Lenox Hill Hospital General Surgery Administrative Chief Resident, 2015 |
Residency | Lenox Hill Hospital General Surgery Resident, 2014 |
Professional Medical | University at Buffalo School of Medicine Medicine M.D., 2010 |
Undergraduate | University at Buffalo Major: Biomedical Sciences; Minor: Biochemical Pharmacology B.S., 2006 |
Selected Publications - Journal Articles
Journal Article
- Kent MS, Hartwig MG, Vallires E, Abbas AE, Cerfolio RJ, Dylewski MR, Fabian T, Herrera LJ, Jett KG, Lazzaro RS, Meyers B, Mitzman BA, Reddy RM, Reed MF, Rice DC, Ross P, Sarkaria IS, Schumacher LY, Tisol WB, Wigle DA, Zervos M (2021). Pulmonary Open, Robotic and Thoracoscopic Lobectomy (PORTaL) Study: An Analysis of 5,721 Cases. Ann Surg.
- Mitzman B (2021). Similar Yet Different: The COVID-19 Pneumothorax. Ann Thorac Surg.
- Angel LF, Amoroso NE, Rafeq S, Mitzman B, Goldenberg R, Shekar SP, Troxel AB, Zhang Y, Chang SH, Kwak P, Amin MR, Sureau K, Nafday HB, Thomas S, Kon Z, Sommer PM, Segal LN, Moore WH, Cerfolio R (2021). Percutaneous Dilational Tracheostomy for Coronavirus Disease 2019 Patients Requiring Mechanical Ventilation. Crit Care Med, 49, 1058-1067.
- Antonoff MB, Mitzman B, Backhus L, Bradbury ST, Chatterjee S, Cooke DT, Crestanello J, Goldstone AB, Kim KM, Nguyen TC, Romano JC, Vaporciyan AA, Varghese TK Jr (2020). The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) Virtual Conference Taskforce: Recommendations for Hosting a Virtual Surgical Meeting. Ann Thorac Surg, 111(1), 16-23.
- Brownlee AR, Mitzman B, Cyzman R, Ferguson MK (2020). Outpatient Thoracoscopic Mediastinal Biopsy: A Safe and Cost-Effective Approach. Ann Thorac Surg, 110(5), 1726-1729.
- Angel L, Kon ZN, Chang SH, Rafeq S, Palasamudram Shekar S, Mitzman B, Amoroso N, Goldenberg R, Sureau K, Smith DE, Cerfolio RJ (2020). Novel Percutaneous Tracheostomy for Critically Ill Patients With COVID-19. Ann Thorac Surg, 110(3), 1006-1011.
- Geraci TC, Ferrari-Light D, Wang S, Mitzman B, Chang SH, Kent A, Pass HI, Bizekis C, Zervos M, Cerfolio RJ (2020). Robotic Sleeve Resection of the Airway: Outcomes and Technical Conduct Using Video Vignettes. Ann Thorac Surg, 110(1), 236-240.
- Balkhy HH, Kitahara H, Mitzman B, Nisivaco S (2019). Robotic totally endoscopic beating-heart bypass to the right coronary artery: first worldwide experience. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg, 57(3), 529-534.
- Ferguson MK, Mitzman B, Derstine B, Lee SM, Pienta MJ, Wang SC, Lin J (2019). A Morphomic Index Is an Independent Predictor of Survival After Lung Cancer Resection. Ann Thorac Surg, 109(3), 873-878.
- Mitzman B, Schipper PH, Edwards MA, Kim S, Ferguson MK (2018). Complications After Esophagectomy Are Associated With Extremes of Body Mass Index. Ann Thorac Surg, 106(4), 973-980.
- Krantz SB, Mitzman B, Lutfi W, Kuchta K, Wang CH, Howington JA, Kim KW (2018). Neoadjuvant Chemoradiation Shows No Survival Advantage to Chemotherapy Alone in Stage IIIA Patients. Ann Thorac Surg, 105(4), 1008-1016.
- Mitzman B, Lutfi W, Wang CH, Krantz S, Howington JA, Kim KW (2017). Minimally Invasive Esophagectomy Provides Equivalent Survival to Open Esophagectomy: An Analysis of the National Cancer Database. Semin Thorac Cardiovasc Surg, 29(2), 244-253.
- Mitzman B, Cottam D, Goriparthi R, Cottam S, Zaveri H, Surve A, Roslin MS (2016). Stomach Intestinal Pylorus Sparing (SIPS) Surgery for Morbid Obesity: Retrospective Analyses of Our Preliminary Experience. Obes Surg, 26(9), 2098-2104.
- Roslin MS, Gagner M, Goriparthi R, Mitzman B (2014). The rationale for a duodenal switch as the primary surgical treatment of advanced type 2 diabetes mellitus and metabolic disease. Surg Obes Relat Dis, 11(3), 704-10.
- Mitzman B, Caronia J, Mina B, Stavropoulos C (2015). Incidental tracheal diverticulum discovered 30 years after tracheo-esophageal fistula repair. J Bronchology Interv Pulmonol, 22(1), 73-5.
- Brownlee A, Mitzman B, Ferguson MK (). Discharge Without a Chest Tube: A Safe and Cost Effective Approach to Mediastinal Biopsy. (Epub ahead of print) Ann Thorac Surg.
Book Chapter
- Mitzman B, Ferguson MK (2020). Resection of Benign Tumors of the Esophagus. In Sugarbaker DJ, Bueno R, Burt BM, Groth SS, Loor G, Wolf AS, Williams M, Adams A (Eds.), Sugarbaker’s Adult Chest Surgery (3 edition). McGraw-Hill Education.
- Mitzman B, Ferguson MK (2020). Selection and Placement of Conduits. In Pearson’s Thoracic and Esophageal Surgery (4th edition). Available: Https://sts.gitbooks.io/pearsons-thoracic/: Society of Thoracic Surgeons.
- Mitzman B (). VATS vs Open Decortication for Pleural Empyema. In Ferguson M (Ed.), Difficult Decisions in Thoracic Surgery: An Evidence-Based Approach (4th edition). London: Springer.
Case Report
- Mirzai S, Yang B, Mitzman B, Torregrossa G, Balkhy HH (2020). Robotic Repair of Adult Left-Sided Partial Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Connection. Ann Thorac Surg, 111(2), e77-e79.
- Daskalaki D, Hakmi H, Stright A, Mitzman B, Mair ER, Joseph DK, Baltazar GA (2020). Bullet embolization to the heart: A rare and confounding penetrating cardiac injury case report. Int J Surg Case Rep, 73, 35-38.
- Balaney B, Mitzman B, Fung J, Paul JD (2018). Diagnosis and management of rare inferior vena cava leiomyosarcoma guided by a novel minimally invasive vascular biopsy technique. Catheter Cardiovasc Interv, 92(4), 752-756.
Editorial
- Mitzman B (2021). Commentary: Battle of the bulge. JTCVS Tech, 10, 538-539.
- Mitzman B (2021). Commentary: A new "lost" generation. JTCVS Open, 7, 411-412.
- Mitzman B (2021). Commentary: Matters of the Heart: Understanding the Unusual. Semin Thorac Cardiovasc Surg.
- Mitzman B (2021). Commentary: Rise of the machines. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg.
- Mitzman B, Beller JP, Edgar L (2020). Thoracic surgery milestones 2.0: Rationale and revision. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg, 160(5), 1399-1404.
- Mitzman B (2020). Commentary: Time to take ownership of the first rib. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg, 162, 1308-1309.
- Mitzman B (2019). Commentary: Taking matters into your own hands: Venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for controlled reperfusion during lung transplantation. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg, 160(1), 330-331.
- Mitzman B (2020). Commentary: Knowing when to accept and when to change: 30-day mortality is good enough. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg.
- Mitzman B (2020). Commentary: A call-to-arms: Shifting culture in cardiothoracic surgery. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg.
- Mitzman B (2020). Commentary: Resecting the Inoperable - Pushing the Boundaries for Individualized Treatment. Semin Thorac Cardiovasc Surg, 32(4), 1138-1139.
Video/Film/CD/Web/Podcast
- Mitzman B (2020). Transitioning to the OR at Your New Insitution [Web]. Society of Thoracic Surgeons.
- Antonoff M, Mitzman B, Maddaus M, Mehran RJ (2020). Managing Crises: Surviving the Pandemic and Resilience Beyond [Live Stream] [Web]. CTSNet.
- Nguyen TC, Chikwe J, Mitzman B (2020). Global COVID Grand Rounds [Live Stream] [Web]. CTSNet.
- Antonoff M, Edwards M, Mitzman B, Gillaspie E (2020). Wellness for the Healthcare Professional During the Pandemic [Video]. CTSNet.
- Mitzman B, Yang S, Brownlee A, Sudarshan M (2020). The Effect of COVID-19 on Cardiothoracic Surgery Education [Video]. CTSNet.
- Mitzman B, Wood D (2020). Definition of Necessary Surgery in the Age of COVID-19: An Interview with Douglas E. Wood [Video]. CTSNet.
- Mitzman B, Cheng A, Sihoe A, Gerosa G (2020). COVID-19: An international Perspective [Video]. CTSNet.
- Mitzman B, McCrorey M M, Patel B, Balkhy HH (2018). Anastomotic Techniques for Robotic Beating-Heart Totally Endoscopic Coronary Artery Bypass [Video]. CTSNet.
- Dunning J, Mitzman B (2018). Interview with Brian Mitzman: Winner of the 2017 CTSNet Resident Video Competition [Video]. https://ctsnet.org/article/interview-brian-mitzman-winner-2017-ctsnet-resident-video-competition: eTSNet.