Pre-Meeting Courses

Wednesday, April 29

Full-Day Courses

For surgeons who have never performed oncoplastic surgery. Morning lectures will provide information on beginner-level strategies and techniques for delivering oncoplastic breast care related to breast conservation.

The afternoon session will provide a hands-on surgical cadaver skills lab including a Mastotrainer section for supervised practice of procedures: skin markings, cavity closure with glandular displacement, aesthetic scar placement, crescent mastopexy, inframammary fold crescent, and the therapeutic donut mastopexy. Required reading material will be provided prior to the course.

For surgeons with basic knowledge of oncoplastic techniques. Morning lectures will provide information on intermediate level strategies and techniques for delivering oncoplastic breast care related to breast conservation.

The afternoon session will provide a hands-on surgical cadaver skills lab including a Mastotrainer section for supervised practice of procedures. Attendees will be assigned to stations to practice skin markings and intermediate oncoplastic surgical techniques. Required reading material will be provided prior to the course.

Engaging didactic talks will update breast surgeons’ current evidence regarding the scope of pathogenic mutations in our population, indications for testing, strategies to deliver effective testing, implications of results, management strategies, and what the future might hold in this dynamic area of research.

This updated course addresses advanced imaging techniques and the fundamentals of stereotactic breast biopsy. The morning portion will focus on advanced imaging techniques that can be used to provide patients with both early detection and diagnosis of breast cancer. The course will include a clear management strategy in screening the patient with the dense/complex breast and/or high-risk. Standard and emerging imaging modalities (3D Tomo, whole breast ultrasound, abbreviated MRI) will be explored. There will be an in-depth mammography interpretation primer to better understand micro-calcifications and other indications for image-guided biopsy. Pathologic dilemmas in dealing with indeterminate and high-risk lesions will be addressed. The final 4 hours of the program will address stereotactic breast procedures, including detailed lectures on the procedure, problem solving, certification tips, and a hands-on workshop.

This course may be taken as a half-day morning or as a full day for those interested in becoming proficient in stereotactic breast biopsy. The course will also serve as a review and source of CME for those considering applying for certification or recertification.

Wednesday Morning Courses

This breastfeeding medicine course will review all aspects of lactation relevant to breast care providers. Topics include interventions in obstructive and inflammatory conditions such as mastitis and abscess, nipple areolar complex pathology, benign masses during lactation, and managing the intersection of breast cancer and breastfeeding. We also will present a “lactation primer” and will provide attendees with breastfeeding reference tools and patient education material that can be utilized immediately upon returning to clinic.

Wednesday Afternoon Courses

The management of breast disease and breast cancer is continually influenced by emerging technology and data with a focus on de-escalation of surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. Surgeons need to evaluate and understand this evolving data and technologies to adequately determine their appropriate role and provide a higher level of care. Surgeons must weigh these benefits against their economic impact to the patient, healthcare facility, and to rising healthcare costs, especially with the implementation of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA), which will focus on cost savings and quality improvements. The participant will be better equipped to determine the need for these technologies in their practice or center through a didactic format built around faculty lectures, case presentations, debate, and interactive attendee participation.

Whether you are within your first few years of practice, switching from academic to community or private practice, or tailoring an existing general surgery practice to a breast-specific one, there are unique challenges and steep learning curves to master the elements of a successful transition. This course is designed to provide surgeons with a toolkit and strategies to navigate these challenges by addressing topics such as professional brand development, leadership skills, program development and accreditation, contract re-negotiating, when and how to partner successfully (and ethically) with industry, public speaking pearls, and building a successful community outreach platform.

Thursday, April 30

Learn the basics of ultrasound physics, scanning techniques, and the interpretation of the characteristics of benign vs malignant focal breast lesions. Both didactic and hands-on instruction will cover the basics of intervention for diagnosis, core biopsy pathology, and the use of intraoperative ultrasound. The faculty will share their personal experiences of integrating breast ultrasound into a surgical practice. Although this course is recommended for the novice, it will function as a thorough review for those individuals already utilizing breast ultrasound. The course will also serve as a review and source of CME for those considering applying for certification or recertification.

This course will review current management of benign and high-risk breast disease, indications for surgery, and when nonsurgical management is appropriate. Benign breast diseases can be extremely challenging in our daily practice, especially with the mainstream use of high-resolution breast imaging, which detects benign and high-risk abnormalities at a higher rate. Through didactic lectures and case presentations, this course will provide high-yield overviews on how to manage these entities in your clinical and surgical practice.

Our work environments have significantly changed over the past 10 years. This leadership course is designed to identify and address professional challenges that we face in our daily practices. This course will explore ways to develop different leadership styles to better succeed in your current practice setting, whether community or academic. You will learn steps to become an exceptional leader in the modern and diverse workforce through a series of lectures and didactic exercises. We will review ways to effectively identify the type of leader you can be through creating your own personal leadership plan. Today’s successful leaders must effectively persuade and influence people at all levels, from office staff to hospital administrators, and we will provide mechanisms to implement this in different work environments. The course will also examine ways to innovate your current practice, thereby improving patient outcomes; will review the process of successful negotiation; and will explore how to create a culture of wellness in your practice.

This is a free-of-charge program for breast surgery fellows participating in a year-long multidisciplinary breast fellowship program, as well as residents entering or interested in participating in a breast fellowship. Lectures will provide supplemental information on several relevant topics for those about to begin practice, including genetics, genomics, neoadjuvant therapies, clinical trials, adjuvant therapies, and salary negotiation. No CME will be offered.