GUEST COMMENTARY

STEPHEN ROSE, M.D. Breast Radiologist Certified by the American Board of Radiology

The Dedicated Breast Radiologist--Why You Should Care
August 2001

I have dedicated my practice of radiology to the diagnosis of early breast cancer for the past eight years. The vast majority of breast radiology is practiced by general radiologists with varying interest and background in breast imaging, and there are some important differences with a dedicated breast radiologist.

First, the specialist in breast radiology is much more involved in direct patient care than most radiologists are used to. One of the frequent comments that I hear from patients that attests to this is the one is, "Wow, I never knew that I could talk to the radiologist directly."

Second, in my opinion, to give the best care to the patient, the breast radiologist must be comfortable with
· the interpretation of mammograms,
· the performance of breast ultrasound with latest generation equipment,
· ultrasound guided biopsies and cyst aspirations,
· ductography,
· and stereotactic needle biopsies.
I am been fortunate to be on the forefront of the implementation of state of the art ultrasound and stereotactic biopsies.

Third, ultrasound is becoming the standard tool for the workup of mammographic abnormalities or patients with palpable lumps in the breast. To optimize the strengths of ultrasound, I perform the ultrasound on the patient myself, which allows me to correlate the mammogram and clinical findings. This also allows me the opportunity to relay the results to the patient at the time of the exam. Fortunately, most of the time, I can assure the patient before she leaves the facility that everything is OK.

Finally, the specialized breast radiologist is in a good position to interact with the other breast specialists, including the breast surgeon, plastic surgeon, radiation therapists, breast pathologist and oncologists.

All of this, of course, results in better care for the patient, which is the bottom line why I get up every morning to go to work.


About Dr. Rose
Dr. Rose is a nationally known specialist in breast imaging, breast ultrasound and stereotactic needle biopsies.

After graduating from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, in 1982, Dr. Rose completed his residency in Diagnostic Radiology at University of Texas at Houston, including training at M.D. Anderson, Texas Children's, Hermann and St. Joseph's hospitals, all located in Houston, Texas.

Dr. Rose is certified by the American Board of Radiology. He has been in private practice in Houston, Texas, since 1986.

He is a member of the Society of Breast Imaging, American College of Radiology, Radiologic Society of North America, Harris County Medical Society, Texas Medical Association and the Texas Radiologic Society.

He has been a guest lecturer at Dr. Laszlo Tabar's Interdisciplinary Breast Conference for five years and a Visiting Professor in the Winchester, Massachusetts,
Breast Conference in Boston, Massachusetts.

Dr. Rose is the director of the TOPS Comprehensive Breast Center (281-765-4640), the medical director of the Breast Center at Memorial Southwest Hospital (713-776-4566), as well as the director of the Houston Breast Center.


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Last modified: December 2001 Author: J.B. Askew, Jr., M.D. Copyright Breastpath.com