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OR-Live.com presents: Thomas Jefferson University Hospital Surgeons to Perform Immediate Breast Reconstruction Surgery

Live CME Webcast September 29, 2005 at 4:30 PM EDT (20:30 UTC)

Women with breast cancer often seek immediate breast reconstruction after a mastectomy to help them regain a semblance of their body and for their psychological peace of mind.

One of the most often performed breast reconstruction surgical procedures, using muscle tissue from a patient's back, will be demonstrated live on the Internet by surgeons at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, in advance of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which begins in October.

Jefferson surgeons who specialize in treating breast cancer will perform immediate breast reconstruction after mastectomy at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 29, in a Webcast from Jefferson University Hospital.

The 60-minute webcast will not only include the live reconstruction, but cover the entire medical path that a patient diagnosed with breast cancer takes during diagnosis and treatment, from an abnormal mammogram, MRI and other diagnostic imaging, to genetic testing and risk assessment, a biopsy, sentinel node biopsy and mastectomy, said breast surgeon Anne Rosenberg, M.D., clinical associate professor of Surgery, Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia. Dr. Rosenberg will host the webcast with plastic surgeon Steven Copit, M.D., clinical assistant professor of Surgery, Jefferson, who will perform the reconstruction.

The Jefferson surgeons will demonstrate latissimus dorsi flap surgery, in which tissue, sometimes including underlying fat and muscle, is taken from the back and tunneled to create a breast mound to reconstruct the breast.

"So when the patient wakes up from surgery, there is a breast mound already in place and the patient is spared the experience of seeing herself with no breast at all, " said Dr. Copit. "It looks better [to the patient] and offers them a psychological advantage."

"This type of reconstruction also allows a breast cancer patient to receive radiation therapy and chemotherapy," Dr. Rosenberg noted.

"We want to present women with the latest and best options for diagnosing and treating breast cancer," said Dr. Rosenberg. "This webcast will demonstrate simply and clearly what a patient can expect if she is diagnosed with breast cancer."

The webcast is approved for CME credit. Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Visit http://www.or-live.com/jeffersonhospital/1344 now to view a program preview. A VNR is available at http://www.or-live.com/rams/thj-1344-mkw-q.ram

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