Rinker Wins Award for Paper Highlighting New Post-Mastectomy Surgery Technique

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Jan. 15, 2014) — The American Society of Plastic Surgeons recently awarded UK HealthCare's Dr. Brian Rinker a "Best Paper" designation for his contribution to Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

The "Best Paper" awards are determined by by the number of views and downloads the articles receive. Rinker's article, "The Use of Dermal Autograft as an Adjunct to Breast Reconstruction with Tissue Expanders,” highlighted a new and safer way to reconstruct breast cancer patients following a mastectomy. As a surgeon who specializes in breast reconstruction in UK's Division of Plastic Surgery, Rinker frequently collaborates with the UK Markey Cancer Center's surgical oncologists to provide a full spectrum of surgical care for mastectomy patients.

“The procedure introduced in the paper is a step forward in the care of breast cancer patients, as it produces an aesthetically pleasing reconstruction with a lower risk of infection and wound healing problems,” Rinker said. “UK is the only center in the region to offer the full range of breast reconstruction procedures, including microsurgical reconstruction, and this procedure is yet another option for our patients.”

The UK Markey Cancer Center is the only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center in Kentucky. NCI-designated cancer centers are a major source of discovery and development of more effective approaches to cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment.