Prof. Donna Eaton

Contact Details

Useful Information

Primary Services

Areas of Expertise

Thoracic surgery.

About

Special Interests  

Prof. Eaton has extensive experience in minimally invasive surgery including thoracoscopic (VATS) and robotic surgery (RATS). Since taking up consultant practice in Ireland, she has expanded the range of minimally invasive surgical approaches and specialist procedures offered to patients in the Republic. She was the first surgeon in Ireland routinely offering thoracic surgery patients robotic resection and offers a number of specialist procedures, not previously available to patients within Ireland.  

Prof. Eaton specialises in:

• Emphysema surgery 
• Offering both minimally invasive surgery and endobronchial valve insertion for lung volume reduction 
• Left atrial appendage clipping 
• For stroke prevention in patients with atrial fibrillation 
• Thoracoscopic sympathectomy 
• Division of the sympathetic chain can be safely performed for management of palmar hyperhidrosis (sweaty hands), facial flushing or indeed life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias (VF and VT, including prolonged QT syndrome) 
• Lung cancer surgery 
• In addition to minimally invasive surgery she has extensive experience in bronchoplastic resections (including distal airway reconstruction) and extended resections for lung cancer 
• Chest wall tumours 
• Major airway surgery 
• Including tracheal resection 
• Airway interventions 
• Stent, laser, cryotherapy and debulking 
• Metastastectomy 
• Mediastinal surgery 
• Including thymectomy for myasthenia gravis 
• Pleural disease 
• Benign (pneumothorax and empyema) and malignant pleural disease (pleural effusion) 

Clinical Research & Professional Memberships  

She is the Head of Thoracic Surgery at the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital and is the lead for Robotic Thoracic Surgery in the unit. Prof. Eaton was awarded a PhD from King’s College University, London for her research in molecular and cellular biology. She has published a number of high impact peer reviewed articles and continues to have an active research and publication portfolio. Her current research interests include extended pleural decortication for mesothelioma, lung volume reduction surgery and cardiac denervation techniques.

She is involved in education and surgical training and teaches both UCD and RCSI medical students. She is actively involved in surgical training through both the SCTS (Society of Cardiothoracic Surgery, UK and Ireland) and EACTS (European Society of Cardiothoracic Surgeons). As well as being involved with the setting of board examinations for cardiothoracic surgery, she teaches minimally invasive lobectomy in Berlin for EACTS, and is course director of the ST4 thoracic surgery course in the UK.