Benjamin Zhang, MD
Thoracic Surgeon
My specialties:
- General surgery
- Thoracic surgery
Professional interests:
- Thoracic oncology
- Lung cancer
- Esophageal cancer
- Benign esophageal disorders
- Mediastinal tumors
- Chest wall tumors
- Tracheal tumors
- Tracheobronchomalacia
- Robotic surgery
Practice philosophy: I believe in a team based approach to patient problems and working in an interdisciplinary fashion. My goal is to help patients understand all aspects of a disease process to guide them to make the best informed decisions for themselves. I believe in taking a minimally invasive approach whenever possible and to take into account all aspects of a patients health in operative decision making.
What are you passionate about and why? I am passionate about following evidenced based medicine to provide the best possible care for patients. My main passion in surgery is advancing my skills in minimally invasive surgery as much as possible to allow patients to recover as quickly as possible.
If you weren't a health care provider, what would you be? I would be a chef as I enjoy providing service to people and using technical skills to enhance food.
Why did you become a provider? When did you know this was the career for you? I was inspired to go into thoracic surgery by one of my medical school mentors who showed me how gratifying it is to take care of patients with surgical oncologic diseases.
What is one of the challenges of this career you enjoy? And why? One of the unique challenges of surgical oncology is that while there are routine methods each patient requires thoughtfulness and tailoring to ensure that they can get the best treatment plan.
What is your personal health goal? My personal health goal is to prevent disease whenever possible while living a good quality of life.
Credentials
- MD
Board-certified specialties
- General surgery
Specialties
- Thoracic surgery
Personal interests
- Family activities
- Hiking
- Swimming
- Weight lifting
Educational institutions
- Medical School - University of Oklahoma
Current licenses and certifications
- American Board of Surgery
- Minnesota Medical License
Internships
- General Surgery - University of Minnesota
Residencies
- General Surgery - University of Minnesota
Fellowships
- Thoracic Surgery - Weill Cornell/New York Presbyterian
Years of experience
- Less than one year
Additional languages spoken
- Chinese
Hospital affiliations
- Abbott Northwestern Hospital
- United Hospital
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Major health plans we participate in
- Allina Health | Aetna
- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota
- HealthPartners
- Medica
- PreferredOne
- SelectCare/LaborCare
- UCare
- UnitedHealthcare
Other health plans we participate in
- Medicaid/Medicare
- Aetna
- America's PPO
- First Health/Coventry
- CIGNA
- Humana
- Hennepin Health (formerly Metropolitan Health Plan)
- PrimeWest
- South Country Health Alliance
- United Behavioral Health
- Wisconsin Physician Services (WPS)