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Dr. Bernard W. Chang, Director of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Mercy, to Present at 2006 American Society of Breast Cancer Surgeons in Baltimore

Dr. Bernard W. Chang, Director of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Mercy Medical Center, will be among the featured presenters at the 7th annual meeting of the national American Society of Breast Surgeons. The meeting, for surgeons with a special interest in the treatment of breast disease, will be held at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel, April 5-9, 2006.

Dr. Chang’s presentation, “Overview of Breast Reconstruction,” will take place on Sunday, April 9th between 10:30 a.m. and noon.

The conference serves to instruct physicians in correctly identifying current treatment and management options for breast patients and in assessing available studies in breast patients.

Dr. Chang performs the deep interior epigastric perforator (DIEP) flap procedure for breast reconstruction. With the DIEP flap, the surgeon can restore the woman's breast using her own fatty tissue while simultaneously giving her a flatter abdomen.

Dr. Chang's research projects have included an isometric and dynamic assessment of abdominal wall function following TRAM flap reconstruction. He has made numerous presentations concerning postmastectomy reconstruction, breast reconstruction after cancer, obesity as a risk factor in breast reconstruction, etc.

Dr. Chang is one of several surgeons in the country to perform the S-GAP superior gluteral artery perforator flap procedure. Unlike other flap procedures, the S-GAP utilizes the patient's tissue taken from the gluteal (upper buttock) region rather than the abdominal area in breast reconstruction. The S-GAP provides a viable alternative for breast reconstruction patients for whom taking abdominal tissue (due to previous scarring or thinness of tissue) is not an option.

Dr. Chang was one of the first Baltimore area surgeons to perform tumescent liposuction. An anesthetic fluid is pumped into the pocket of fat to numb the area, loosen the fat and shrink the blood vessels for minimal bleeding or bruising. The fluid and fat are then sculpted out using small micro cannulas.

Dr. Chang is also Assistant Director of The Hoffberger Breast Center at Mercy Medical Center.