Dr. David R. Onsager, MD

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Get to know Cardiothoracic Surgeon Dr. David R. Onsager, who serves patients in Illinois.

As a highly-skilled, board-certified cardiothoracic surgeon, Dr. Onsager has expertise in heart and lung transplantation, as well as mechanical circulatory devices, including left ventricular assist devices and intra-aortic balloon pumps. In practice since 1997, he sees patients at the Riverside Heart & Vascular Institute in Kankakee, Illinois and performs cardiothoracic surgeries at Riverside Medical Center. 

Additionally, he serves as a Clinical Associate of Surgery at the Heart and Vascular Center at UChicago Medicine, which provides superior health care in a compassionate manner, ever mindful of each patient’s dignity and individuality. Located in Chicago, the Heart and Vascular Center at UChicago Medicine is at the forefront of cardiology, specializing in the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of heart conditions.

Back in 1988, Dr. Onsager earned his medical degree from the Rush Medical College at Rush University in Chicago, Illinois. He then went on to complete his residency in general surgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin in 1994, followed by his fellowship in thoracic organ transplantation at the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1995. He also completed a residency in cardiothoracic surgery at the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1997. 

The doctor is board-certified in thoracic and cardiac surgery by the American Board of Thoracic Surgery, an American surgical organization devoted to surgery of the chest. Additionally, he is board-certified in surgery by the American Board of Surgery, an independent, non-profit organization located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, founded for the purpose of certifying surgeons who have met a defined standard of education, training, and knowledge.

Among his professional affiliations, he is a member of the American College of Surgeons, the Chicago Cardiothoracic Surgical Society, the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, the Illinois Thoracic Surgical Society, the International College of Surgeons, and the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation.

Through his research, Dr. Onsager has investigated ways to improve surgical techniques and processes and has been published in multiple peer-reviewed journals such as Thoracic Cardiovascular Surgery.

Cardiothoracic surgery is the field of medicine involved in the surgical treatment of organs inside the thorax. Cardiothoracic surgeons are medical doctors who specialize in surgical procedures inside the thorax, which may involve the heart, lungs, esophagus, and other organs in the chest. Alongside performing surgery, they also diagnose and treat diseases of these organs. 

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