Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin Breast Surgery Program

The Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin’s Breast Surgery Program was one of the first well-established cancer programs in the institution and has served as the model for other disease-specific, multidisciplinary cancer programs. It offers a comprehensive, experienced team of physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, genetics counselors, clinical psychologists and physical therapists who treat all forms of breast cancer. This team emphasizes a multidisciplinary, individualized approach to caring for every patient with breast cancer.

The breast surgery practice covers the spectrum of benign to malignant breast diseases not only on the Wauwatosa Froedtert campus, but also at Froedtert West Bend Hospital and Froedtert Menomonee Falls Hospital. In conjunction with their medical oncology, radiation oncology, radiology, plastic and reconstructive surgery and pathology colleagues, the breast surgeons provide high quality multidisciplinary care at all three National Accreditation for Breast Cancers (NAPBC) accredited sites, a program administered by the American College of Surgeons. In addition to standard operations such as a mastectomy and breast conserving surgery, the breast surgery team works in collaboration with reconstructive surgery colleagues to offer cutting edge procedures such as oncoplastic procedures after lumpectomy, nipple sparing mastectomies, and numerous tissue-based reconstructive options which provide the most optimal cosmetic outcome. The plastic surgery team also offers the lymphatic bypass procedure in conjunction with the breast surgeons who perform axillary dissections to help reduce rates of lymphedema. The multidisciplinary team sees over 600 cancers a year and is the Commission on Cancer site that sees the most breast cancers as a single institution in Southeast Wisconsin.

The Division of Surgical Oncology includes four board-certified surgeons who participate in this multidisciplinary team including Amanda L. Kong, MD, MS (Section Chief), Adrienne Cobb, MD, MS, Chandler S. Cortina, MD, MS, Caitlin R. Patten, MD, and Tina W.F. Yen, MD, MS. Our breast surgeons are surgical oncology or breast fellowship trained and thus are dedicated to providing the most up-to-date care for our patients. Specialty breast surgical services are provided at our community partners, Froedtert West Bend Hospital, Froedtert Menomonee Falls, Froedtert Drexel Town Square Health Center, and Froedtert Mequon Health Center. The breast program also includes a high-risk clinic. Our providers follow women who are high-risk for developing breast cancer with clinical examinations and breast imaging studies, as well as discuss chemoprevention and risk-reducing surgical options. We also collaborate with other providers across the state and northern Illinois to treat complex breast cancer cases.

Froedtert & MCW is actively involved with several national and local clinical trials that are examining different ways to improve breast cancer treatment involving new surgical approaches, combination therapies, the delivery of radiation, and new drug agents. Our surgeons are involved in clinical and outcomes-based research as well as laboratory-based translational research. Tina Yen, MD, MS, serves as the institutional principal investigator for the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology cooperative group. The breast program is very active with recruitment for cooperative group, industry-sponsored, and investigator-initiated clinical trials. The program also maintains a multi-disciplinary breast clinical research database that is overseen by Amanda Kong, MD, MS.

Education is also a cornerstone of the surgical breast cancer program which plays an integral role in the general surgery residency program. In addition to educating rotating third year medical students on their general surgery rotations, the breast providers also participate in a multidisciplinary breast elective for fourth year students which addresses the diagnosis, work-up, and treatment of both benign and malignant breast diseases.

For more information about our surgeons, the clinical trials they participate in, or the breast surgery program, please click on the provided links. You may also contact them to make an appointment at (414) 805-4950.