[Maumee, OH]– Dr. Peter Koltz is returning home. For him, that means returning not only to his hometown, but also to St. Luke’s Hospital, where he started his healthcare career as a nurse’s aide years ago.
He is bringing with him over a decade of medical training, which includes the ability to perform cutting-edge, big-city plastic and reconstructive surgical techniques that are not currently available in this area.
He spent an extra year at the University of Pennsylvania training in microvascular surgery to offer patients with breast cancer, devastating extremity trauma or cancers, challenging head and neck problems, and a variety of pediatric conditions options for reconstructive procedures that allows their lives to be restored in the most natural way possible.
For example, the University of Pennsylvania performs more autologous breast reconstructions (DIEP, PAP, muscle sparing TRAM, TUG/VUG, SGAP/IGAP) than any other hospital system in the world.
Autologous breast reconstruction is a microsurgery technique that reconstructs the breast using tissue from another part of the body. The training Dr. Koltz received at Penn allows him to perform the reconstruction while minimizing complications at the site where the tissue originated. Beyond that, the technique reconnects the nerve endings and blood vessels so the patient regains feeling in the area, promoting a sense of wholeness and well being.
“The key is to be able to offer patients the best surgical option for them,” Dr. Koltz said. “My goal for every patient I see is to provide them a reconstruction that will allow them to return to the things that they like to do as quickly as possible with the best aesthetic result. Whether performing DIEP flap breast reconstruction, implant breast reconstruction, performing extremity salvage, or reconstructing the head and neck following cancer or trauma, my goal is to individualize the reconstruction to every patient. The beauty of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery as a surgical subspecialty is the ability to tailor every patient’s plan to their specific situation and return them to what they love to do. It is important to me to be able to offer all options safely and efficiently to accomplish this goal.”
As of March 2017, there are more than 3.1 million women with a history of breast cancer in the U.S. This includes women currently being treated and women who have finished treatment.