Dear Colleagues:

On behalf of the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, we would like to welcome you to the First Conference on Asian Breast Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery in Taiwan.

I have recently been invited to several meetings in Asia that have dealt with aspects of plastic and reconstructive surgery of the breast. These meetings include the 50th Annual Meeting of the Japan Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Tokyo, April 11-13, 2007; the Conference of International Oncoplastic Breast Surgery, Daegu, Korea, September 18-19, 2008; and the First World Conference of Chinese Plastic Surgery and the Third Conference of the Group for Advanced Breast Reconstructive Surgeons, Beijing, October 11-12, 2008. These have all been excellent meetings, but have not covered the entire spectrum of plastic surgery of the breast as it relates to the Asian patient. That is the goal of this meeting.

The development of breast plastic and reconstructive surgery in Asia is in general behind that in Western countries due to anatomic, cultural, and insurance differences. We hope to close this gap by sharing the experience of plastic surgeons who are dedicated to the advancement of techniques of plastic and reconstructive surgery of the Asian breast.

A series of comprehensive lectures and several live surgeries will be presented at this meeting, provided by reputational speakers and surgeons from different countries, covering the most up-to-date and hot topics of plastic and reconstructive surgery of the breast. Hopefully, this conference will be hosted in a different country annually in the future. We look forward to your participation.