I also have extensive experience in radical trachelectomy, a surgical procedure that can preserve fertility in patients with early-stage cervical cancer; and over the past ten years I have pioneered many of the surgical approaches that we use to treat stage I cervical cancer. I also led the effort to investigate and utilize sentinel lymph node mapping in cervical and uterine cancer, a novel approach that is now being adopted by many oncology practices nationally and internationally. The sentinel node mapping procedure may improve detection of cancer spread to lymph nodes and limit the side effects of radical surgery.
Removal of pelvic lymph nodes is an important part of the surgical treatment of uterine and cervical cancers. For appropriate candidates I offer the option of performing sentinel lymph node mapping, which may help us clarify if the tumor has spread to lymph nodes. This is a novel surgical approach in gynecology, and our service has utilized this technique for several years with very promising results.
Obesity is common among patients with endometrial cancer. In selected cases, I collaborate closely with our plastic surgeons to perform reconstructive surgery and abdominoplasty/panniculectomy (procedures that remove the excess skin and underlying fat in the abdominal area) at the same time as surgery to remove the uterine tumor.
My clinical research focuses on surgical therapy for gynecologic cancers and innovative surgical approaches to treat gynecologic disorders, such as sentinel-node mapping, improved localization of tumor, and fertility-sparing surgery. As Director of Minimally Invasive Surgery in Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center's Gynecology Service, I am actively involved in the development and improvement of laparoscopic techniques, and I participate in national clinical trials that involve the laparoscopic approach. I have served as a member of the Gynecologic Oncology Group Cervix Committee, the American College of Surgeons Committee on Emerging Surgical Technology and Education; as well as the National Comprehensive Cancer Network's Cervical Cancer Screening Panel, Endometrial Cancer and Uterine Sarcoma Panel, and Cervical Cancer Panel.
As chair of Memorial Hospital’s surgical quality assessment committee, it is my responsibility to ensure that quality surgical care and patient safety are maintained for all patients at our institution. Providing this level of service is the utmost priority in my own practice.
I spend two full days in the operating room each week. In addition, I see patients in the clinic twice a week at Memorial Sloan-Kettering's Rockefeller Outpatient Pavilion on East 53rd Street (between Lexington & Third Avenues) in Manhattan.
