Windsor Regional Hospital hosts BRA Day event
To help promote the breast reconstruction options available to women locally, the Windsor Regional Hospital hosted Breast Reconstruction Awareness Day at its Metropolitan Campus on Tuesday. The session is part of series of events and educational materials that have been created in the past year since the launching last December of a new breast reconstruction program at Windsor Regional. Among the speakers Tuesday was WRH plastic surgeon Dr. Kristina Lutz, who co-founded the program with fellow plastic surgeon Dr. Hana Farhang.
“There are a lot of women locally (who) I don’t think are aware yet of the program,” said Lutz, who came to Windsor in Sept. 2016. “We want to let people know we’re here.”
In its first year, the hospital agreed to fund at least 15 patients. Lutz and Farhang estimate they have helped between 15 and 20 women already.
Also speaking Tuesday were Dr. Tanya DeLyzer (plastic surgeon, London Health Sciences Centre) and Dr. Kristen Gyvetvai (breast surgeon, Windsor Regional). The event was also streamed live on the hospital’s Facebook site. Farhang said women previously had to travel to London or even Toronto, where she previously worked, for breast reconstruction. The complications presented by the cost and distance discouraged many women from having the surgery done.
The number of Windsor women Farhang saw passing through Toronto’s St. Michael’s Hospital for surgery made her aware of the need for a breast reconstruction program in the area.
“The program brings an emotional stability for families because they don’t have the stress and hardships of having to travel for surgery and the followup appointments,” Farhang said.