We Are Proud to Support The Oncoplastic Reconstruction Service At UHP
Back in March 2020, The Primrose Foundation agreed to provide the Oncoplastic surgery team at University Hospitals Plymouth with a £10,000 training bursary. The bursary was to be made available to the newly appointed Oncoplastic Surgery Clinical Fellow with a special interest in Breast reconstruction so that he/she could offer patients the option of microsurgical breast reconstructive surgery after breast cancer.
The Oncoplastic Surgery team supports the Primrose Breast care service by providing complex reconstructive breast surgery for patients. The planning, assessment and delivery of care is performed by a multi-disciplinary team, including Specialist Breast reconstruction Nurses, Plastic Surgeons, Breast Surgeons, Anaesthetists, Oncologists, Radiologists, and many other professionals that all work together as a team to offer the best care possible for patients. Therefore, funding the bursary allowed the Foundation to support the whole team and anyone who required this specialist surgery.
In May 2020 Dr Platon Trigkatzis was appointed as a Senior Fellow in Breast Reconstruction Surgery under the direct supervision of, Mr John Dickson, Consultant Plastic and Oncoplastic surgeon.
Mr Dickson explains the impact of the bursary for training within the unit.
This bursary has been tremendous support for us as a team and has really helped us with training the next generation of reconstructive surgeons. The activities undertaken have prompted many interesting educational activities and high-level discussion and planning across the whole team. Platon has been a dynamic, kind, hard-working and enthusiastic contributor. His presence has really enhanced the atmosphere here in the unit with exciting projects that will help serve our patients for years to come. I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the wonderful Primrose Foundation and also to Platon.
Dr Trigkatzis explains the many benefits the bursary has had.
Since I started my training in Plastic Surgery, my main goal has been to specialise in Breast Reconstruction. The COVID outbreak put my plans on hold for a while. However, in May 2020 the opportunity was given to me, and I was honoured to be appointed as Senior Fellow in Breast Reconstruction Surgery. This fellowship was even more attractive since it was supported by a very generous 10k bursary offered by The Primrose Foundation.
In this nice Ocean Sea spot of the UK, I was embraced by a very supportive team. I am very grateful to all the doctors and nurses in the Primrose Breast care centre, who helped me to expand my knowledge and improve my skills even more. It is a wonderful feeling for me to be part of such a team effort, and to see the Breast centre progressing. The Oncoplastic meetings, the ever-growing MDT spirit, the joint cases between Plastics and Breast Surgeons, and the positive feedback from the patients, reflect the spirit. I am also proud of setting up the first microsurgical training lab in University Hospitals Plymouth with Mr John Dickson and the other Plastics Registrars.
Every time I walk the corridors of the Primrose centre, I realise the impact of the Foundation on the establishment of such a well-equipped, functional, and high-end Breast centre.
With the Foundations support I managed to attend:
A Master Class in autologous Breast Reconstruction in London, a Breast Reconstruction course in Alicante and many webinars. I am due to attend a Breast course in Lisbon and I will visit a well-recognisable Breast Unit in Belgium for a couple of weeks. I also expanded my medical library with up-to-date editions in Breast Surgery, as well as my surgical equipment (e.g., high magnification loupes and a hand doppler) necessary for Breast reconstruction Surgery.
I owe a big thank you to everyone (medical and non-medical staff, The Primrose Foundation, but mostly the cancer warriors) not only for making me a better doctor but for making me a better person.
After all these years in Plymouth, I can call this place HOME.
The Primrose Foundation would like to thank everyone who has continued to support us, it is your support that allows us to offer grant funding for essential training and training bursaries like this to the whole of the breast care team at University Hospitals Plymouth.
We would like to extend that thanks to the very ladies that helped to make this bursary possible. To read their story please click on the link below.