Popular Locations
- Outpatient Surgery - Bridgeport Hospital
- Park Avenue Medical Center
- Primary Care Center - Bridgeport Hospital
General Surgery, Surgical Oncology
Online scheduling is not available at this time. Please call us at (203) 337-8790 to schedule your appointment.
Melanie Lynch, MD, was in fourth grade when she opened up an anatomy text book and knew she wanted to become a doctor.
“I loved science, biology in particular, and decided this is what I would do,” says Dr. Lynch, who is director of breast surgery at the Norma Pfriem Breast Center at Smilow Cancer Hospital, which has locations at Park Avenue Medical Center in Trumbull and Fairfield and at Bridgeport Hospital.
Throughout her early schooling she was also active in theater, which turned out to be useful training. “In theater, you develop confidence in speaking and in being present with people,” she explains. “There’s an emotional intelligence that is required in playing a character or delivering a song.”
Dr. Lynch puts that emotional intelligence to work when she meets with patients. “I recognize that it’s a privilege to be with someone at a difficult time in their lives,” she says. “I acknowledge patients’ anxieties, uncertainties, and fears. I’m honest and I provide reassurance. I tell them what we know, what we can offer, and what I have seen in my own clinical practice.”
Surgery, she says, was a natural fit for her in her medical training. “It’s almost like a Rorschach test between surgery or medicine, and I clearly belonged with the surgeons, even though that was unsettling to me at the time as I had three small children,” she says. “But it was the dedication to anatomy that got me, and that you are treating and curing disease by changing anatomy. I also love the intensity of it and the decision making. I love the engagement of being in the operating room and satisfaction of doing an operation that will have a profound effect on a patient.”
Making a comprehensive treatment plan and working with an entire team to coordinate care for a patient is another rewarding aspect of her job, Dr. Lynch notes.
“From plastic surgery to medical oncology to radiation oncology to making sure the patient has physical therapy to get ready for surgery and to recover, the surgeon is there at the moment of diagnosis and helps shape the plan and is the quarterback of the team,” she says. “I also love the cancer survivorship element and working with women to reduce their risk of recurrence and engaging in nutrition, exercise, stress reduction, and other healthy habits.”
Dr. Lynch’s clinical expertise includes the integration of oncoplastic techniques for nipple sparing mastectomy, oncoplastic approaches to breast conservation, and surgical techniques for the prevention of lymphedema.
“Breast surgery has transformed during the course of my career. Fundamentally, the operations are to help diagnose and stage breast cancer to determine the extent of the disease and to cure it,” she says. “Breast cancer is curable, and surgery plays a big part in that. More than 80% of women with breast cancer will have a cure and live a long life. So, we develop our surgeries to provide women with integrity in their bodies. It’s not just removing the cancer, but making sure the breast has good size, shape, and symmetry.”
Does this provider accept my Insurance?
YES! This insurance is accepted.
Sorry This insurance may not be accepted.
Please check for your insurance on the list below.
Insurance coverage regularly changes, please contact the doctor’s office directly to verify that your specific insurance plan is accepted.
More About Accepted InsuranceYour will receive instructions from our office about any items needed prior to your visit. If you have MyChart, you may be able to save time and check in prior to your visit.
View or modify your appointment Request or renew a prescription Send your doctor a messageView results, request prescription renewals, schedule follow up visits and more.
5520 Park Avenue
Trumbull, CT 06611
Phone: (203) 337-8790
Fax: (203) 337-8701
267 Grant Street
Norma Pfriem Breast Center
Bridgeport, CT 06610
Phone: (203) 254-2381
Fax: () -
Are you Melanie Lynch, MD?
Update your profile