Prof. Dr. Vahit Ozmen is a surgical oncologist with more than 45 years of clinical experience, whose main focus is the diagnosis and comprehensive surgical treatment of breast diseases. He was among the first in Turkey to introduce a multidisciplinary approach and breast-conserving surgery in oncology.

Main areas of specialization:

• Surgical treatment of breast cancer (early-stage and locally advanced);
• Breast-conserving surgery (lumpectomy, quadrantectomy) with oncoplastic reconstruction;
• Skin-sparing and nipple-sparing mastectomy with immediate reconstruction;
• Sentinel lymph node biopsy and axillary lymph node dissection;
• Surgery for hereditary breast cancer (BRCA1/BRCA2 mutation carriers), prophylactic mastectomy;
• Treatment of benign breast diseases — fibroadenomas, cysts, mastopathy, gynecomastia;
• Management of fibrocystic changes and mastalgia.

Diagnostic procedures performed and interpreted:

• Clinical breast examination and consultation;
• Mammography, breast ultrasound, breast MRI;
• Fine-needle aspiration and ultrasound-guided core biopsy;
• Molecular and genetic testing (BRCA1/2, multigene panels);
• Breast cancer risk assessment and personalized screening programs.

Methods and technologies used:

• Oncoplastic surgery with aesthetic breast contouring;
• Breast reconstruction with implants and autologous flaps (in cooperation with plastic surgeons);
• Intraoperative localization of non-palpable tumors (wire- and seed-localization);
• Neoadjuvant and adjuvant therapy as part of a multidisciplinary team (chemotherapy, hormone therapy, targeted therapy, radiotherapy).

Patient categories:

• Women and men with newly diagnosed breast cancer;
• Patients with recurrent and metastatic disease;
• Patients at high hereditary risk (family history, BRCA mutations);
• Patients with benign breast lesions and chronic breast conditions.

• 1972–1978: Istanbul University Faculty of Medicine — MD (graduated with honours, ranked 1st).
• 1978–1986: Residency in General Surgery, Istanbul University Faculty of Medicine; in 1986 awarded the title of Başasistan (Senior Assistant / Chief Resident).
• 1987: Associate Professor of Surgery (Doçent), Istanbul University.
• 1989–1991: Surgical oncology fellowship, Tulane University (New Orleans, USA).
• 1995: Professor of Surgery, Istanbul University Faculty of Medicine.
• MD, FACS (Fellow of the American College of Surgeons).

• 1989 — after returning from the USA, established a dedicated breast surgery programme at Istanbul University.
• Since September 2019 — Director / Chairman of the Breast Center, Istanbul Florence Nightingale Hospital.
• Principal investigator of the Bahçeşehir Breast Cancer Screening Project (2008–2018; about 10,000 women).
• 2002–2016 — member of the National Cancer Advisory Board of the Turkish Ministry of Health, Chair of the Breast Cancer Sub-committee.
• More than 45 years of clinical practice in general and oncological surgery, including many years of work within the Florence Nightingale hospital group.

• Editor-in-Chief of the European Journal of Breast Health (indexed in PubMed Central).
• Editor / editorial board member of several specialist journals, including Journal of Turkey’s Clinics.
• Reviewer for leading international journals: Lancet Oncology, Journal of the American College of Surgeons, British Journal of Cancer, The Breast, Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, EJSO and others.
• Author of more than 200 articles in international peer-reviewed journals, with a high citation index (profiles on ResearchGate, ORCID, Scopus).
• Principal investigator of the Breast Cancer Registry Program of Turkey; co-author of monographs on breast cancer in Turkey.

• American College of Surgeons (FACS, since 1995).
• American Society of Breast Surgeons (ASBrS).
• Senologic International Society (SIS) — Board Member, President-Elect 2021–2023, President 2024–2026.
• Turkish Federation of Breast Diseases Societies — founder, past president.
• Istanbul Breast Society — founder, past president.
• Breast Health Society / MEMEDER — founder and honorary president.
• Turkish Surgical Society; Turkish Society of Laparoscopic and Endoscopic Surgery (founder); Turkish Oncology Society.
• European Association of Endoscopic Laparoscopic Surgery (EAES); American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons (ASCRS).
• French National Academy of Surgery — honorary foreign member (2025).