Development of the Breast Surgical Oncology Fellowship in the United States

Abstract

The surgical treatment of breast cancer has rapidly evolved over the past 50 years, progressing from Halsted’s radical mastectomy to a public campaign of surgical options, aesthetic reconstruction, and patient empowerment. Sparked by the research of Dr. Bernard Fisher and the first National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project trial in 1971, the field of breast surgery underwent significant growth over the next several decades, enabling general surgeons to limit their practices to the breast. High surgical volumes eventually led to the development of the first formal breast surgical oncology fellowship in a large community-based hospital at Baylor University Medical Center in 1982. The establishment of the American Society of Breast Surgeons, as well as several landmark clinical trials and public campaign efforts, further contributed to the advancement of breast surgery. In 2003, the Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO), in partnership with the American Society of Breast Surgeons and the American Society of Breast Disease, approved its first fellowship training program in breast surgical oncology. Since that time, the number of American fellowship programs has increased to approximately 60 programs, focusing not only on training in breast surgery, but also in medical oncology, radiation oncology, pathology, breast imaging, and plastic and reconstructive surgery. This article focuses on the happenings in the United States that led to the transition of breast surgery from a subset of general surgery to its own specialized field.

Breast surgery super-specialization: Impact on advanced surgical training and research

“… 10 He observed that most Parkland surgical residents did not have adequate exposure to managing BC; such as not performing a single radical mastectomy (standard operation for BC at that time) because patients presented to the hospital at an inoperable stage. 11 Dr. Cheek’s dream of an adequate training experience was later fulfilled by a BC patient’s generous endowment which helped establish the “Seeger Endowed Fellowship in Surgical Oncology of the Breast”. This was the first breast surgical oncology fellowship of the United States developed at the Baylor University Medical Centre in 1980.…”