UAMS’ V. Suzanne Klimberg, M.D., Named President of Society of Surgical Oncology

By Susan Van Dusen

Klimberg is director of the Breast Cancer Program at the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute. She holds the Muriel Balsam Kohn Chair in Breast Surgical Oncology at UAMS and is a professor of surgery and pathology in the UAMS College of Medicine. She also directs the diseases of the breast fellowship program at the Cancer Institute.

Klimberg sees patients in the second-floor clinics at the Cancer Institute. Her research interests include the use of radiofrequency ablation for the treatment of breast cancer and axillary reverse mapping for the prevention of the swelling known as lymphedema that often follows breast cancer surgery.

She is immediate past president of the American Society of Breast Surgeons and is a director on The American Board of Surgery, The American Board of Plastic Surgery and The Surgical Oncology Board.

Klimberg also is founding director of the Breast Cancer Challenge, a multi-state, collaborative education and research conference held each July in Branson, Mo.  

The Breast Cancer Program at UAMS is accredited by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC). The NAPBC, a program of the American College of Surgeons, represents a consortium of national professional organizations dedicated to improving of the quality of care and monitoring of outcomes for patients with diseases of the breast.

The mission of the Society of Surgical Oncology is to improve patient care by advancing the science and practice of surgical oncology worldwide.
     
UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a statewide network of regional centers; and seven institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, the Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy, the Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, the Psychiatric Research Institute, the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging and the Translational Research Institute. Named best Little Rock metropolitan area hospital by U.S. News & World Report, it is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has more than 2,800 students and 790 medical residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 10,000 employees, including about 1,000 physicians and other professionals who provide care to patients at UAMS, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the VA Medical Center and UAMS regional centers throughout the state. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com