​Meet Our Thoracic Surgery Team:

Providers​

Gary Chmielewski, MD, FACS

Thoracic Surgeon
Regional Director of Thoracic Surgery - Advocate Aurora Healthcare

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Dr. Chmielewski is board certified in both Thoracic Surgery and General Surgery. He earned his  MD degree from Loyola University of Chicago. He then went on to complete his General Surgery  Residency and Fellowship in Cardiothoracic Surgery at Wayne State University in Detroit,  Michigan. His practice focuses on minimally invasive surgery of the lungs and esophagus. He  values helping patients with lung cancer, esophageal cancer, or gastroesophageal reflux related  diseases get excellent surgical treatment and get back to their lives. His clinical focus is on providing minimally invasive surgery on the DaVinci Robotic platform. He is the Division Chief of  Thoracic Surgery at Lutheran General Hospital and Regional Director of Thoracic Surgery for  Advocate Aurora Healthcare. He has thoracic clinics at Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital,  Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital, Advocate Illinois Masonic Hospital in addition to Advocate  Lutheran General Hospital. He is an active instrument rated private pilot, painter in both  watercolor and oils, and proud father of twins and triplets.

Axel Joob, MD

Thoracic Surgeon
​Director of Lung Cancer Screening Program - Advocate Aurora Healthcare

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Dr. Joob has been a board certified Cardiothoracic surgeon for 33 years. Currently his focus is on early lung cancer diagnosis, both with screening and evaluation of incidental lung nodules. He is also directly involved in inpatient care and daily rounding. He completed his undergraduate education and earned his MD at the University of Michigan. He completed his residency in General Surgery and Fellowship in Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of Virginia. He then worked at Northwestern from 1988-1998 and has been practicing at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital and Illinois Masonic Hospital since then. Dr. Joob is a dedicated Thoracic surgeon who is adamant about quality patient care.

Alex R. Cedeño-Rodriguez, MD, FACS

Thoracic Surgeon

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Dr. Cedeño-Rodriguez is board certified in Thoracic surgery. He earned his medical degree from the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine where he also completed a residency in general surgery. He completed his fellowship in Cardiothoracic surgery at Albany Medical Center, in Albany, NY and advanced training for tracheal, airway surgery, and ECMO at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City. Dr. Cedeño-Rodriguez specializes in thoracic surgery with a special interest in minimally invasive and robotic thoracic surgery, esophageal surgery, tracheal surgery as well as extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for lung failure. 

Samantha Consol, MS, PA-C

Certified Physician Assistant (PA-C)

Samantha is a key member of our Thoracic Surgery team. She provides excellent patient care by assisting with surgery in the OR, seeing patients in our clinic, and rounding on our inpatients daily.... She completed her undergraduate education at California State University Chico with a B.S. in Exercise Physiology. She then went on to earn her Masters of Science in Physician Assistant Studies at Rush University. As a PA, she is passionate about providing high quality, personalized patient care. She values spending time with her patients and making sure all of their questions are answered, so they are informed and comfortable with all aspects of their care.

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Hector Martinez, MS, PA-C

Certified Physician Assistant (PA-C)

Hector Martinez, MS, PA-C, received a bachelor’s degree in Healthcare Management from National-Louis University in 2009, and a master’s degree in physician assistant (PA) studies from Rush University in 2016.... He has worked in the healthcare field for nearly 15 years in a few different specialties including radiology and cardiology. Hector specializes in thoracic surgery in which the majority of cases are now being performed using the Da Vinci robotic platform. His clinical interests include thoracic oncology, lung and esophageal cancer, paraesophageal hernia repair, postoperative care, and PA student surgical training. He works closely with all the members of the thoracic surgery team to ensure excellent patient care is always delivered. His passion lies within striving for excellent patient outcomes throughout all the different phases of patient care.

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Clinical Support Staff

Megan Jung-Zimmerman
Thoracic RN

Megan is an Xavier University alumni and has been a registered nurse for eight years. She has especially enjoyed her new career venture into Thoracic Surgery. She loves the dedication to each individual patient that her team has, and works diligently to be a part of something larger and make a difference.

Shannon Bushey
Surgery Scheduler

Shannon Bushey has been our surgical scheduler in Thoracic Surgery for four years and has worked in the medical field for nine years. She takes pride in her work and loves helping patients feel at ease while navigating their treatment. She states that any day she can go home knowing that a patient has been well taken care of, is a good day.

Sana Waheed
​Medical Assistant

Sana is our bilingual Medical Assistant born and raised in Pakistan. She recently received her Bachelor's Degree in Health Sciences from Rush University, and is working towards becoming a Physician Assistant. Sana is very passionate about patient centered care and is thankful to be a part of our Thoracic Team.

Danny Potter
Patient Service Representative

Daniel recently graduated with his Associate's Degree and is now working on obtaining his Bachelor's in Business Administration. Diving into the medical field has been a new and rewarding experience. With a sense of compassion and understanding, he aspires to ensure the utmost quality patient service.