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Dr. David P Mason

Cleveland Clinic Foundation

Contact Information

9500 Euclid Avenue, F24, Cleveland, Ohio 44195
(216) 445-6860
masond2@ccf.org

Mesothelioma was virtually unknown until the 20th Century. This type of cancer, caused by exposure to asbestos, did not begin to appear until industries began to use the material for a wide range of applications. As the number of mesothelioma cases increased, more and more physicians chose to focus their attention on the disease.

New methods of surgery were developed, new drugs were developed, and new ways to target the cancers with radiation therapy were found. There are still many research projects underway by both medical facilities and pharmaceutical companies. Advances are constantly being made in the treatment of mesothelioma.

One of the many physicians who chose to focus attention on mesothelioma is Dr. David P. Mason. He received his medical degree from the Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York, after first obtaining an undergraduate degree in psychology and social relations from Harvard University. He served his internship and general surgery residency at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital. Two fellowships followed, one at the University of Washington in Seattle in vascular surgery, and the other at Brigham and Women's Hospital in thoracic surgery.

A staff surgeon in the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, Dr. Mason holds appointments in both the Transplantation Center and the Cancer Center. His specialty is general thoracic surgery, including minimally invasive thoracoscopic and laparascopic surgery; mesothelioma; lung transplantation; and esophageal and lung cancers. He is board-certified in both general surgery and thoracic surgery.

Prior to his arrival at the Cleveland Clinic as a staff surgeon in the Heart Center, Transplantation Center, and Cancer Center in 2004, Dr. Mason was an assistant professor of thoracic surgery at Baltimore's Johns Hopkins Hospital, during which time he was also an attending physician at both the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center and the Johns Hopkins Hospital. He has also been a research assistant in the vascular surgery department at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital. He is a member of the American College of Chest Physicians, the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, and the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation.

Dr. Mason is widely published and has either authored or co-authored numerous articles and chapters in medical texts on his areas of interest. These include videothoracoscopic surgery, video-assisted thoracic surgery, and gastroesophageal reflux. His articles have appeared in such publications as the Journal of Vascular Surgery and the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery.

One of Dr. Mason's research projects is the multimodality management of malignant mesothelioma. He is a proponent of minimally invasive surgery with video-assisted thorascopic lobectomy for the treatment of lung cancer. He has a great deal of experience in extrapleural pneumonectomy and has expertise in thoracoscopic lung volume reduction surgery for the treatment of emphysema, lung transplantation, and the area of immunosuppression. He has performed extensive research on the management of lung cancer and lung metastases using isolated lung perfusion. His research has also included studies of the mechanics of cellular invasion.

Additional areas of surgical expertise include pericardiectomy, esophagectomy, and pericardial effusion. He also has special expertise in Barrett's esophagus, pulmonary fibrosis, lung neoplasms, pulmonary embolism, and pericardial window techniques.