About Us>Medical Advisory Board > Heather Macdonald, MD, FACOG

Heather Macdonald, MD, FACOG

Medical Director, Early Risk Assessment Program & Breast and Ovarian Cancer Prevention Program, Hoag Hospital

Heather Macdonald

Highlights

  • LBBC Medical Advisory Board member since 2023
  • Expert in breast disease diagnosis and surgical management
  • Provides a holistic approach to women’s reproductive health
featured_paragraph

Heather Macdonald, MD, FACOG, is the medical director of the Hoag Early Risk Assessment Program and the Hoag Breast and Ovarian Cancer Prevention Program. She is also a voluntary assistant clinical professor of surgery at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California.

general_content

As a board-certified obstetrician gynecologist (OB-GYN) and fellowship-trained breast surgeon, Dr. Macdonald is unique and provides a holistic approach to women’s reproductive health. She is an expert in breast disease, including the diagnosis and surgical management of breast cancer, as well as gynecologic issues related to breast disease, such as menopause, contraception, breast cancer survivorship, fertility preservation, and inherited breast and ovarian cancer syndromes. Her clinical expertise includes oncoplastic breast conservation, skin and nipple sparing mastectomies, and intra-operative radiation therapy techniques.

Dr. Macdonald is nationally recognized for her expertise in breast disease and continues to publish and speak nationally and internationally on topics as diverse as breast cancer, hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndromes, gynecologic care of the breast cancer patient, fertility preservation, menopause management, and pregnancy-associated breast cancer. She is a fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and is a member of the American Society of Breast Surgeons.

3_column_content

Experience & accolades

Expertise

  • Obstetrics and gynecology
  • Breast surgery

Education

  • Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California
    • Fellow, breast surgery
    • Resident, obstetrics and gynecology
    • Intern, obstetrics and gynecology
  • University of Southern California
    • Doctor of medicine
  • University of California, Santa Cruz
    • Bachelor of arts

Experience

  • Hoag Health, 2016-Present
    • Medical director, Breast and Ovarian Cancer Prevention Program
    • Medical director, High Risk Program
    • Medical director, Hoag Irvine Breast Center
    • Private practice, breast surgery, hereditary breast and ovarian cancer, menopause
  • Los Angeles County and USC Medical Center, 2006-2016
    • Attending, breast surgery
    • Attending, obstetrics and gynecology
    • Medical director, Avon Familial Breast and Ovarian Cancer Prevention Clinic
    • Director, Women’s Breast Diagnostic Center
  • Keck School of Medicine, 2004-2016
    • Voluntary assistant professor of clinical surgery
    • Postgraduate physician, obstetrics and gynecology
    • Assistant professor of OB/GYN and breast surgery
    • Clinical instructor
  • Kaiser Permanente Southern California, 2004-2006
    • Physician, obstetrics and gynecology
  • California Family Care, 2003-2006
    • Physician, obstetrics and gynecology
  • University of California, Santa Cruz, 1993-1995
    • Research assistant, Institute for Health Policy Studies
    • Teaching assistant, literature and creative writing

Awards & distinctions

  • Physician Of Excellence, Orange County Medical Association, 2022
  • Hoag Medical Surgical Floor Physician of the Quarter, 2019
  • Hoag Promise Physician Partnership Award, 2018
  • Hoag Surgical Service Physician of the Quarter, 2016
  • Certificate, Leadership and Excelling in the National Surgical Care Improvement Project Initiative, Keck Medical Center, 2012
  • Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics Excellence in Teaching Award, 2008
  • Faculty Teaching Award, Outstanding Teaching as a House Officer, Keck School of Medicine, 2006
  • George Peters Award, Best Fellow Presentation, Presented at the American Society of Breast Surgeons, 2006
  • George Peters Award, Best Fellow Presentation, Presented at the American Society of Breast Surgeons, 2005

Professional memberships & board positions

  • Medical Advisory Board, Living Beyond Breast Cancer
  • Pacific Coast Obstetrics and Gynecology Society, 2019-Present
  • American Society of Clinical Oncology, 2018-Present
  • North American Menopause Society, 2018-Present
    • Abstract review committee member
  • American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists, 2012-Present
  • American Society of Breast Surgeons, 2010-Present
  • Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics, 2007-2016
  • American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists Junior Member, 1999-2012

Publications

  • Dickinson BP, Holmes, D, Vu-Huynh N, et al. “Autologous mastectomy reconstruction: Communication among the breast surgery team to maximize aesthetic and oncologic outcome.” The Breast, 2020.
  • Wecsler J, Jeong YJ, Raghavendra AS, et al. “Factors associated with MRI detection of occult lesions in newly diagnosed breast cancers.” Journal of Surgical Oncology, 2020.
  • Macdonald, HR. “Managing breast cancer risk in transgender men and women: Emerging safety data and a need for more research.” The Breast Journal, 2019.
  • Beitsch PD, Whitworth PW, Hughes K, et al. “Underdiagnosis of hereditary breast cancer: Are genetic testing guidelines a tool or an obstacle?” Journal of Clinical Oncology, 2018.
  • Sleight AG, Lyons KD, Vigen C, et al. “The association of health-related quality of life with unmet supportive care needs and sociodemographic factors in low-income Latina breast cancer survivors: A single-centre pilot study.” Disability and Rehabilitation, 2018.