Meet Dr. Teotia
Specialist in Breast Reconstruction after Cancer in Dallas, Texas
Sumeet S. Teotia, M.D., specializes in breast reconstruction surgery after cancer. He is a Professor of Plastic Surgery and Director of the Breast Reconstruction Program at UT Southwestern in Dallas, Texas. In addition, Dr. Teotia is a classically trained artist, which is at the core of his approach to reconstructive surgery.
As the Director of the Breast Reconstruction Program at UTSW in Dallas, Dr. Teotia is closely involved with the multidisciplinary breast cancer team through the Harold C. Simmons Cancer Center. Together with this team, Dr. Teotia is able to offer alternative and creative solutions.
Dr. Teotia specializes in the use of flaps, such as deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP), lumbar artery perforator (LAP), profounda artery perforator (PAP), and stacked flaps. He has performed more than 2,500 of these procedures.
Flaps transplant the patient's own tissue from other parts of the body to reconstruct the breast. The breast reconstruction team in in Dallas has helped pioneer a number of techniques and protocols in various flaps and combination procedures, including preserving muscle, reducing operative time and pain, decreasing complications, and ultimately providing appropriate natural results.
The UTSW team has worked to streamline processes and set protocols, and they’ve written over 100 publications dedicated to improving reconstructive outcomes. Many patients seek and are eligible for flap reconstruction other than DIEP flaps, such as LAP, PAP, or stacked flaps. The team at UTSW has extensive experience in these uncommon types of flaps.
Dr. Teotia is part of an expert team that offers a broad spectrum of flap procedures for cancer patients after a mastectomy. Some of these flap approaches and procedures have been introduced, developed, and refined at UT Southwestern.
"These types of procedures are technically demanding and require highly trained specialists and surgical teams. At UT Southwestern, we rise to the challenges and provide unique and alternative flap-based solutions that attempt to create natural-appearing breasts," Dr. Teotia says.
Experienced Breast Reconstruction Surgeon in Dallas, Texas
Along with his dedication to providing high-quality surgical care, Dr. Teotia is also a classically trained artist. Growing up in a military family, he moved regularly and traveled often at a young age. During his childhood, he found connection through art.
"It provided a permanence to the impermanence," Dr. Teotia says.
Dr. Teotia approaches each patient from an artistic perspective. To him, it's important to spend time talking to his patients so that he can understand their journey, attempt to get a brief glimpse into their lives, and learn how the patients perceive themselves.
"In breast reconstruction, my practice is geared toward an aesthetic-based reconstruction, beginning with understanding how a patient appears pre-operatively, what is encountered during surgery, and what possibilities exist to reach a maximum result,” he says.
"I'm not offering life-saving surgery, but I am attempting to provide a life-changing result. My goal is to ensure my patients are satisfied with the results that can be realistically achieved."
He combines his talents and a rare classical drawing background with science and surgery in a sincere attempt to achieve what he calls a beautiful harmony grounded in honest, achievable, visual reality. His goal is geared toward an aesthetic balance that is in concert with a harmonious result.
"Like cancer, my road has not been a straight path. I've trained at various top-tier hospitals, including the Mayo Clinic, but I found my home in Dallas, at UT Southwestern, where I can work alongside and collaborate with other breast reconstruction surgeons, and have the artistic freedom to create the best and safest results for my patients."
Dr. Teotia teaches classical art concepts to medical students with the goal of passing along valuable lessons he's learned from sculpting and drawing. He has also published articles in medical art.
"In the end, the composition must work to create a beautiful piece of art, particularly in drawing," he says.
To him, breast reconstruction fulfills that incredible need to create.
"My profession is a surgeon; my true passion is art and drawing, and I'm extremely dedicated to both. I believe these two disciplines complement each other and make me a better surgeon, artist, and person."
