CANANDAIGUA – UR Medicine Thompson Health’s breast surgery program is bringing together F.F. Thompson Hospital general surgeons who specialize in breast surgery and surgeons from University of Rochester Medical Center Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, enabling Thompson’s patients to streamline treatment following a breast cancer diagnosis.
Now, when a local patient is having their breast surgery at Thompson, they will not need to go to Rochester for a second, reconstructive surgery with a plastic surgeon. Instead, the reconstructive surgery can begin immediately after the mastectomy, so everything can be taken care of in one surgical experience. This allows patients to consolidate their pre-surgery appointments as well.
The new partnership, guided by the breast navigation team from Thompson’s Breast Imaging Center in Canandaigua, launches May 14.
Under this enhanced collaboration, all patients can be seen in one location, the Thompson Professional Building at 395 West St. in Canandaigua. Dr. Howard N. Langstein, chief of URMC Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, now has an office in the UR Medicine Specialty Suite on the ground floor. In the Advanced Surgical Services suite on the third floor are Thompson’s general surgeons, including Drs. Andrew Powers and Theodor Kaufman, both board-certified surgeons who treat patients with breast cancer.
Langstein said he is pleased to bring URMC’s plastic surgery services to Thompson, for the convenience of its patients.
“The ideal situation is that patients facing a mastectomy for breast cancer can undergo most, if not all of their reconstructive surgery on the same day that the cancer is removed. Women can immediately experience the benefits of breast reconstruction as they go through and complete their treatment, and begin to feel restored. Doing these surgeries at Thompson will be a big benefit to our patients,” he said.
Kaufman is the division chief for UR Medicine Regional Surgery, coordinating efforts for the UR Medicine Faculty Group physicians who serve the UR Medicine affiliate hospitals located throughout the Finger Lakes region, including Thompson. He said the new arrangement is in keeping with UR Medicine’s regional approach to services, which allows patients to remain close to home and their personal support networks.
“Someone who has recently received a diagnosis of breast cancer is at a time in their life when they need coordinated support and a treatment plan they feel comfortable with. By making the process more efficient for these patients, we hope to provide them with the best possible experience,” he said.
Langstein and Kaufman noted that in meeting with the cancer surgeon and breast reconstruction surgeon, a patient will receive a review of the methods that are right for the kind of mastectomy they are to receive. In some cases, they said, breast reconstruction surgery will need to wait until healing has occurred. All of these discussions will happen in pre-surgery appointments to ensure the patient understands their individualized treatment plan.
For more information, visit www.ThompsonHealth.com/BreastSurgery. To speak with a breast navigation nurse, call the Breast Imaging Center at (585) 396-6651. To speak with a general surgeon specializing in breast surgery, call F.F. Thompson Hospital Advanced Surgical Services at (585) 978-8350.