Norfolk experts in breast surgery to lecture at Royal College

Surgeons and a specialist nurse from the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital will be lecturing on breast reconstruction techniques at the Royal College of Surgeons in London next month.

The Norwich team includes breast surgeons Miss Elaine Sassoon, Mr Simon Pain and specialist nurse Ruth Harcourt. The lectures on breast reconstruction are being run by Elaine Sassoon for the British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (BAPRAS) and the British Association of Plastic Surgery Nurses (BAPN).

The BAPRAS/BAPN Study Day will feature a lecture from Mr Simon Pain on the role of Sentinel Node Biopsy, specialist nurse Ruth Harcourt willl lecture on scar management/tattooing and on the role of the breast reconstruction nurse and Elaine Sassoon on the latest methods of breast reconstruction.

In recent years new breast reconstruction techniques such as perforator flaps have been pioneered in the UK by the team at NNUH. Last month ITV Yorkshire broadcast a documentary on the work of the Norwich team to reconstruct a Sheffield woman's breasts using the innovative perforator flap technique.

Elaine Sassoon said: “The aim of this course is keep nurses up to date with the latest developments in this rapidly evolving field of breast reconstruction. We would like to make sure that patients are always offered the full choice of breast reconstruction techniques and to eliminate the ” post code lottery of care” which sometimes exists. Informing the nurses is the first step toward this aim.”

The BAPRAS/BAPN Breast Reconstruction Study Day takes place at the Royal College of Surgeons, 35-43 Lincoln's Inn Field. London on Thursday October 19 – http://www.bapras.org.uk/uploadfiles/meeting/course%20flyer%20wesite.pdf#search=%22BAPRAS%20Study%20Day%22