Ms Seema Seetharam, Consultant Surgeon and lead clinician for the Breast Cancer Service
Year qualified: 1995
- Clinical interests
- Breast Cancer
- Benign Breast disease
- Oncoplastic breast surgery
- Reconstrutive breast surgery
- Cosmetic Breast Surgery
Professional profile
Ms Seema Seetharam has been a Consultant Breast and Oncoplastic Surgeon and Lead Clinician for Breast Cancer Services at Darent Valley Hospital since 2010. She graduated from Mangalore University in India in 1995. She underwent her Basic Surgical Training including a period of formal research in the West of Scotland region and specialist training in Breast and Oncoplastic surgery in South East London region (including Guy’s hospital, London and PRUH, Bromley).
In 2010, she was part of the first ever cohort of surgeons to be awarded European Board of Surgical Qualification (UEMS) in Breast Surgery. She has numerous publications and presentations both at national and international meetings. She also has a special interest in surgical training and is Surgical Tutor for the Royal College of Surgeons of England.
She is very experienced in the management of a wide spectrum of Breast disease, both benign and malignant. She has surgical expertise in Reconstructive breast surgery with a special interest in Oncoplastic breast surgery which is fast becoming a cosmetically superior way to achieve breast conservation – for e.g.; Reduction mammoplasty in a patient with a large cancer in a large breast, instead of standard lumpectomy, achieves much more satisfactory outcomes both oncologically and aesthetically.
Over the last 4 years she has expanded the Breast Surgery service to offer locally:
- Implant based reconstruction
- Contra lateral symmeterisation (mastopexy, reduction, augmentation)
- Lipofilling (Fat transfer)
- Nipple areolar reconstruction
- Nipple tattooing
At Empress Breast Unit at DVH, she offers clinical consultations, which include Triple assessment. She is supported by an excellent team of Radiologists, Pathologists, Oncologists and Breast Clinical Nurse Specialists.
She also offers a wide range of Cosmetic Breast Surgery (Augmentation, Reduction, Mastopexy, Symmeterisation surgery). She offers clinical consultations for patients with benign breast disease and Family History of breast cancer as well.
Ms Seetharam offers intraoperative analysis of sentinel lymph nodes with one stop nucleic acid assay (OSNA) in all patients having sentinel node biopsy for management of breast cancer. This avoids a 2nd operation for patients. She is the ONLY surgeon to offer OSNA at Darent Valley Hospital and Fawkham Manor Hospital and indeed in the whole of Kent and Medway region.
She is a strong proponent of public education and awareness and has conducted workshops and given talks for GPs, patients and public regarding Breast Disease. She is also involved in fundraising for Breast Unit and undertakes all these activities in her personal time.