Issue link: http://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/871454
Physical scars can be a constant reminder of breast cancer. At King's Daughters' Health, Edward Kubek, MD, helps women put the disease behind them. BECOMING A SURGEON wasn't originally the goal for Dr. Kubek when he was a student at Indiana University Bloomington. "I started as an art student," he says. "During my art classes, we'd use a lot of medical anatomy books, and I started thinking to myself that surgery must be a really cool form of art. It combines the artistic side of working with your hands with helping other people." One Surgery, Double Results Dr. Kubek recently joined KDH as both a general surgeon and a plastic and reconstructive surgeon. "I just like fixing things," he says. "I enjoy being able to address a very wide range of surgical problems from head to toe, and being triple-trained in general, plastic and reconstructive, and craniofacial surgery allows me to do that. I like the combination. Even in a smaller hospital setting, I am still able to do so many things in the course of a month or year." In addition to providing an array of general surgeries, including treating hernias, abdominal problems and skin cancer, Dr. Kubek leads our breast cancer surgery and reconstruction program. He performs skin-sparing mastectomies with immediate breast reconstruction, mastectomies with delayed breast reconstruction and revisions to prior breast surgeries. "What's unique about KDH is that the plastic surgeon can do both operations," he says. "In most hospitals, a general surgeon performs the mastectomy, and then a plastic surgeon does the reconstruction. Because I'm trained in both, I can do the procedures at the same time and with fewer office appointments, depending on a patient's situation. When a team approach would be better, I work with my partner, Russell Gornichec, MD, FACS, to achieve the best outcome for the patient." Dr. Kubek and his team also work with a local tattoo artist who does tattooing of nipples after reconstruction surgery. WITH CONFIDENCE Overcoming Brea Cancer 4 FALL 2017 // www.kdhmadison.org