General Info

Krystina Tongson, DO is a fellowship-trained breast surgical oncologist with an emphasis in breast cancer treatment, particularly for younger patients. She also works closely with high-risk patients and advocates for early screenings. From a young age, Dr. Tongson admired her father's work as a surgeon and, during her residency at Larkin Community Hospital, she even performed a few surgeries by his side. She embraced the unique challenges of caring for breast surgery patients and completed her fellowship in breast surgery at the Northwell Health Breast Care Centers of Phelps Hospital and Northern Westchester Hospital. "I picked breast surgery because of the patient-doctor relationships," she says. She is one of the only surgeons at Lenox Hill Hospital that can perform intraoperative radiation therapy, an advanced treatment that delivers radiation in just one dose while patients are under anesthesia during surgery, helping them avoid a month's worth of hospital visits. In addition, she's focused on other tech that can optimize the treatment further, presenting her work at conferences. She's also trained in wireless localizers, which enables precision surgery while also being more comfortable for patients.And comfort is something Dr. Tongson strives for. "I take into account all the factors of the patients' lives and how treatment will affect them," she explains. She gets to know what their support system is like, and her team-which includes social workers and nurse navigators-will even help coordinate rides for those with transportation issues. She also works with plastic surgeons specializing in breast reconstruction and microvascular surgery, who she considers the best in the country for their outstanding cosmetic outcomes. "We're very spoiled that they work in our center," Dr. Tongson says. Dr. Tongson also runs a high-risk program, offering genetic testing to identify those with a predisposition for breast cancer in order to catch it early, or to provide preventative surgeries to cut risk from 80% to under 5%. She's also worked with transgender patients, a community with limited data around breast cancer diagnosis, and recently published her work on the matter.Located in the city, her patients are from all walks of life, including a growing number of women under 40, fueling her passion for earlier screenings. "40 is when we traditionally start screening," she says. "But we need to start the conversation sooner."