Surgical Oncology Associates of South Texas is a practice dedicated to the surgical prevention and treatment of cancer. It is directed by Morton S. Kahlenberg, MD, FACS, a fellowship trained cancer surgery specialist and is staffed by nurses and office personnel that have extensive experience in the care of patients with cancer or pre-cancerous conditions.

What is Surgical Oncology and What is the Role of the Surgical Oncologist?

Many patients and physicians are not fully aware of the surgical sub-specialty of surgical oncology and the role of the surgical oncologist in the management of patients with cancer or pre-cancerous conditions. As such, patients are frequently referred to general surgeons for their care. While there are many excellent general surgeons in our community, it is important that patients and referring physicians appreciate the benefits of having a surgical oncologist provide surgical care for patients diagnosed with cancer.

Surgical Oncology is the surgical subspecialty that is dedicated to the surgical treatment and prevention of cancer. Surgical Oncologists are general surgeons who, in addition to completing a full 5 year training program in general surgery, have also dedicated an additional 2-4 years of surgical training specifically in the area of cancer surgery. There are only 19 accredited training programs that are recognized and regulated by the Society of Surgical Oncology and these programs graduate approximately 45 surgeons each year. As a result of this additional sophisticated training, surgical oncologists are best prepared to manage the most complex surgical cancer cases. Surgical Oncologists provide expert opinion for difficult decision making along with state of the art technical surgical skills and this results in better patient care and outcomes.