Who is the best surgeon at Memorial Sloan K?

Oh, and just wanted to add that it sounds like your mom is going to have a lumpectomy.  Clean margins are determined afterwards when the tissue is sent to pathology, because in may cases these are microscopic cells we're talking about, and cannot be seen by the naked eye.  Every surgeon wants good margins.  The medical oncologist will be the most important person to make sure there is no recurrence.  The surgeon can only remove what's already there.  And MSK is using all the most current chemo protocols.

I ended up doing chemo first, so  it was kind of disjointed.  The 1st surgeon (who was the partner of the surgeon who did my mom's lumpectomy years before, but couldn't give me an appointment) was totally disinterested and told me to do chemo first.  So while I was in chemo, I went to surgeon #2.  I wasn't overly thrilled, but at the time there were a ton of other things going on, so I figured OK, whatever.  Then when I finished chemo, she told me she would only do it 1 at a time, and I hat to use her plastics person (who wasn't on my plan), so I found doctor 3, who saw me within a week of calling -  and took it upon herself to find and contact my plastic surgeon, and she made sure he took my insurance.  So, I felt comfortable with her.

Breast cancer usually spreads slowly, and a week or 2 shouldn't make a difference.  Columbia Presbyterian is also extremely highly rated, if you wanted to speak with them.  One way to tell, if you have the pathology report, there should be a "grade".  If it's grade 1, you can take your time, if it's grade 3, you want to move a little faster.  The higher the grade, the more aggressive it is.

When I was first going  through everything, I was really annoyed at how many tests and stuff that they wanted before anything - mammo, ultrasound, biopsy, mri - it really does feel like forever, but it's OK.

Need hope, if you are considering NYU, I would highly recommend the breast surgeon I used, Freya Schnabel. Very highly respected in her field and terrific bedside manner. I felt she really listened to me and took into account everything I had to say. Also answered all my questions at length and I never felt rushed.

I too have Dr. Alexandra Heerdt at MSK.  I cannot say enough good things about her; in fact, she is like an angel.  She is so genuinely concerned and attentive.  She goes the extra mile, an then some. her bedside manner is so loving, understanding and confident.  She listens.  If you can get in to see her, I highly recommend her.   

I had monica morrow last sept for initial rt mast and TE placement. She got great margins. Horrible bedside manner. But you dont hire them to be your best friend. I had horrible experience at the hosp they use. I think it was memorial hosp.

Dr morrow spoke to my husband after uni mast. Then my PS dr Desa/Disa?spoke to my husband and said i would be in horrible pain. He had filled my TE with 300 ml saline. They woke me up abruptly. Remember being transfered to stretcher when sx finished. I said "I need mg ativan, I just lost a breast" got to recovery area. Was in horrible pain with anxiety. I asked "where is my pca" they said those where reserved for bilaterals. They gave me tiny bits of dilaudid. 0.2 & 0.4 mg-that is nothing. I was writhing in pain. But i believe there recovery was closing. So off to floor I went. I had to transfer myself to bed. Ted hose where never placed. I had to demand the scd's to be placed. It was close to midnight before i got them. I got to recovery maybe 4pm.. I started demanding pca. Finally got it after 4 hours. Very hard to get on top of pain at this point. The pca ran off pump, but the fluids where running off gravity. They should be on pump. The post op bra was wzy too big.

My roomate had her light and tv on all night. She had constipation, and was continually complaining about it. The nursing staff was horrible. Finally at end of night my nurse of 2 years said "nurses make the worst patients.

They helped me up the first time, but after thar i was on my own. My pain was in no way controlled. Nursing staff was uncaring..

If yoy go to this hosp,, stay with your mom to be her patient advocate

I just had my diep sx this week in san antonio, and my experience was positive.

At last minute dr morrow refused to release me to fly free with corporate angels.

I dont usually tell this story, but you asked

Dr morrow is great sx, but she is cold

I hear Van Zee is nice, I never got to meet her. Had surgery at NYH. I love MSK, not everyone does.

Hi...At SLoan I used 

 BS...V. Sachani...went from lumpectomy, reexcision to the BMX..personality was shall...  not to chatty ..but I felt he was clinicially competent...well known in the field

PS..A. Pusic..very agreeable, maybe to much, kind gentle manner..well know...great work if I do say so

 MO...Bramberg...BEST personality, you will like her!

Good luck

I am at MSK and am very happy with it, but I know it's not for everyone.  My surgeon is Dr. Heerdt, who is really incredible.  She has such a warm, comforting manner.  I have been very happy with her.  My medical oncologist is Dr. Maura Dickler, who is also great.  My PS is Dr. Cordeiro...I know he is not the warmest PS, but I like his straightforward manner, and since my exchange is next Wednesday, I'll have a better idea of whether or not I want to recommend him after that.

But I can't say enough good things about Dr. Heerdt - she's the best!

Good luck to you and your mom...she is very lucky to have you taking good care of her.  My family has made all the difference to me during my treatment, and I'm sure you will make all the difference for your mother.

NeedHope:

Some Oncologists even if they have an idea of how they want to treat her after the surgery, may not do so until the pathology report comes in.  In my case, my Onc re-tested the information 2x prior to starting treatment.  That was because he wanted to make sure he had the best chemo cocktail for me.  If he had started treatment, before the final pathology reports were in, I would have probably been on a different type of chemo that would not have been as effective for my subtype. My information changed from the biopsy (ER+ 4%) to the tumor pathology report as (< than 1% ER+), resulting in a completely different course of chemo for myself.  

Now, it is important to know that some Onc and depending upon the situation with the patient, will administer chemo first to shrink the tumor and to gauge the effectiveness of the chemo drugs.  If that is the case, they will discuss that with you/your Mother.

If you ask your Mom's doctor, and they suggest surgery first before additional therapy, then I would opt for surgery first (right away) and have the final pathology/slides sent out to the other labs for the 2nd opinions.

Thanks for keeping us all posted on things. 

Hi,  I assume you already chose the surgeon, but, if not, I highly recommend Kimberly Van Zee, MD at MSKCC.  She is both very thorough and very attentive.  If they have cancellations, her office calls you to move up the appointment. Once you are in their system, you move very quickly to treatment.  I did a plastic surgery consult with Peter Cordiero, MD.  So far I'm working on lumpectomy re-excisions, so haven't needed plastics.  He is very straightforward, but not a hand-holder.  I found the ambulatory surgery area staff to be both efficient and kind.  Pain management was not a problem at all.

My cousin used Tari King and was also happy (also didn't use plastics).

needhope - I saw my PS and BS the day after UMX surgery. Saw both the following week too. The BS checked on my incisions and talked to me about my pathology. He said, "It's going to feel like I'm abandoning you, but now the PS needs to do his job." I didn't see the BS again for a few months, but saw my PS quite often.

I did find the two surgeons were very proprietary about their incisions. Found that quite funny. 

I just want to say that your mom is a lucky woman to have a daughter like you!