Lorena Gonzalez, M.D.

310-750-1715
Lorena Gonzalez, M.D.
Breast Surgeon
Clinical Expertise
  • Breast Cancer
  • Benign Breast Disease
  • High Risk Patient Management
  • Genetic Cancer Risk Assessments
Other Languages Spoken
Spanish
Academic Appointments
  • Assistant Clinical Professor, Division of Breast Surgery, Department of Surgery
Clinical Teams
Breast Cancer
Surgery — Breast

I chose to come to City of Hope because its motto spoke to me: ‘There is no profit in curing the body if, in the process, we destroy the soul.’

Lorena Gonzalez, M.D., spent five years as a noted vascular surgeon before deciding to follow a new path and focus on hereditary breast cancer — patients with the BRCA1 mutation for example. “I am most passionate about this,” she explained, “because it represents a true opportunity to practice preventive medicine against cancer of the breast.”

Dr. Gonzalez earned her medical degree from SUNY Stony Brook School of Medicine, Stony Brook, New York, and continued her training at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Making the switch to breast cancer, Dr. Gonzalez then joined City of Hope where she completed her fellowship in breast surgical oncology.

A firm believer in giving back and serving the community, the bilingual (English/Spanish) Gonzalez traveled to Peru to perform surgery for indigenous underserved populations.

Dr. Gonzalez understands that cancer treatment can be challenging and overwhelming for many patients. “I feel that at City of Hope we recognize this,” she said, “and we’re sure to incorporate patient wishes into treatment decision-making to improve healing of all parts of the patient: mind, body and soul.”

Location

Education & Experience

Board Certifications

  • 2015, Vascular Surgery, American Board of Surgery
  • 2013, American Board of Surgery
  • 2005–present, ACLS
  • 2005–present, BLS

Degrees

  • 2005, M.D., SUNY Stony Brook School of Medicine, Stony Brook, NY

Fellowship

  • 2019–2020, Breast Surgical Oncology, Division of Breast Surgery, City of Hope, Duarte, CA
  • 2012–2014, Vascular Surgery, Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX

Residency

  • 2005–2007, General Surgery, University of Medicine and Dentistry of NJ, Newark, NJ
  • 2009–2012, General Surgery, University of Medicine and Dentistry of NJ, Newark, NJ

Internship

  • 2007–2009, Research Fellowship, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York City, NY

Professional Experience

  • 2020–present, Assistant Clinical Professor, Division of Breast Surgery, Department of Surgery, City of Hope, Duarte, California
  • 2014–2019, Assistant Professor of Surgery, Department of Surgery, Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY

Publications

Peered Reviewed

  • Gonzalez L, Pawlick TM, Kibbe MR, Willimas B, Vicente D, O’Leary MP, Velopulos CG, Funk LM. The 2020 Pandemic: Lessons learned in academic surgery and beyond. J Surg Res. 2022 Aug;276:A1-A6.
  • Gonzalez L. Self-assessment question item writer, “Breast Cancer — Invasive Carcinomas”. The SCORE Portal. Published June 2021.
  • Gonzalez L. Item writer for the TWIS Breast Quiz. The SCORE Portal. Published June 27, 2021.
  • Gonzalez L, Sun C, Loscalzo M, Clark K, Kruper L, MortimerJ, Jones V. A cross-sectional study of distress levels in patients with newly diagnosed breast cancer: the impact of race, ethnicity, and language preference. Ann Surg Oncol. 2022 Feb;29(2):981-988.
  • Stewart CL, De Andrade JP, Duma N, Ralph OK, Choong K, Gonzalez L, McClintock NC, Sandoval E, Melstrom LG, Warner SG. Unconscious bias in speaker introductions at a surgical oncology meeting: Hierarchy reigns over gender. Ann Surg Oncol. 2020 Oct;27(10):3754-3761. PMID: 32712891
  • Gonzalez L. Item writer for the TWIS Breast Quiz. The SCORE Portal. Published June 2020.
  • Gonzalez L, Kassem M, Owora AH, Seligson MT, Richards CY, Monita MM, Cardounell SZ, Brangman SA, Gahtan V. Frailty and biomarkers of frailty predict outcome in veterans after open and endovascular revascularization. J Surg Res. 2019 Aug 1;243:539-552. PMID: 31377495
  • Choudhry AJ, Shaw P, Gonzalez L, Costanza M. Hybrid endovascular exclusion of a bleeding innominate artery pseudoaneurysm in a patient with no open surgical options. J Vasc Surg Cases Innov Tech. 2019 Apr 28;5(2):132-135. PMID: 31193401
  • Matos JM, Gonzalez L, Kfoury E, Echeverria A, Bechara CF, Lin PH. Outcomes following operative management of thoracic outlet syndrome in the pediatric patient. Vascular. 2018 Aug;26(4):410-417. PMID: 29301465
  • Preventza O, Garcia A, Moeller K, Cooley DA, Gonzalez L, Cheong BY, Vunnamadalla K, Coselli JS. Retrograde Ascending Aortic Dissection After Thoracic Endovascular Aortic Repair for Distal Aortic Dissection or With Zone 0 Landing: Association, Risk Factors, and True Incidence. Ann Thorac Surg. 2015 Aug;100(2):509-15 PMID: 26095103
  • Preventza O, Mohammed S, Cheong BY, Gonzalez L, Ouzounian M, Livesay JJ, Cooley DA, Coselli JS. Endovascular therapy in patients with genetically triggered thoracic aortic disease: applications and short- and mid-term outcomes. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg. 2014 Aug; 46(2):248-53; discussion 253. doi: 10.1093/ejcts/ezt636. Epub 2014 Jan 28. PMID: 24477738
  • Gonzalez L, Chen A, Lin PH, Pisimisis G, Barshes NR, Bechara CF, Kougias P. Latest Recanalization Techniques for Complex Superficial Femoral Artery Occlusions. J Cardiovasc Surg. 2012. 53(4):487-94 PMID: 22854529
  • Au JT, Gonzalez L, Cehn CH Serganova I, Fong Y. Bioluminescence Imaging as a Dynamic Marker for Guiding and Assessing Thermal Treatment of Cancer in a Preclinical Model. Annals of Surgical Oncology. 2012. 19(9):3116-22 PMID: 22466665
  • Gonzalez SJ, Wong J, Gonzalez L, Brader P, Zakowski M, Gonen M, Fong Y, Strong VE. Novel Handheld PET Probes Provide Intraoperative Localization of PET-avid Lymph Nodes. Surgical Endoscopy. 2011. 25(100:3214-21 PMID: 21512878
  • Haddad D, Chen NG, Zhang Q, Chen CH, Yu YA, Gonzalez L, Carpenter SG, Carson J, Au J, Mittra A, Gonen M, Zanzonico PB, Fong Y, Szalay AA. Insertion of the Human Sodium Iodide Symporter to Facilitate Deep Tissue Imaging Does Not Alter Oncolytic or Replication Capability of a Novel Vaccinia Virus. Journal of Translational Medicine. 2011. 31;9:36 PMID: 21453532
  • Gonzalez SJ, Gonzalez L, Wong J, Brader P, Zakowski M, Gonen M, Daghighian F, Fong Y, Strong VE. An Analysis of the Utility of Handheld PET Probes for the Intraoperative Localization of Malignant Tissue. Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery. 2011. 15;(2):358-66 PMID: 21108016
  • Song KY, Wong J, Gonzalez L, Sheng G, Zamarin D, Fong Y. Antitumor Efficacy of Viral Therapy Using Genetically Engineered Newcastle Disease Virus [NDV(F3aa)-GFP] for Peritoneally Disseminated Gastric Cancer. Journal of Molecular Medicine. 2010 88(6):589-96 PMID: 20393691
  • Lin SF, Price DL, Chen CH, Brader P, Li S, Gonzalez L, Zhang Q, Yu YA, Chen N, Szalay AA, Fong Y, Wong RJ. Oncolytic Vaccinia Virotherapy of Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer in Vivo. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. 2008 93(11):4403-7 PMID: 18697871

Review articles

  • Gonzalez L, Mortimer J, Kruper L. De-escalation of systemic therapy for early stage, node negative Her2+ and triple negative breast cancer. Curr Breast Cancer Rep 2021 Open access published online
  • Gonzalez L, Kruper, L. Updates in genetic testing guidelines for breast cancer susceptibility genes: A change in the paradigm. Curr Breast Cancer Rep. 2019 (11):358-364
  • Gonzalez L, Helkin A, Gahtan V. Dyslipidemia Part 2: Review of Dyslipidemia Treatment in Patients with Noncoronary Vascular Disease. Vasc Endovascular Surg. 2016 Feb;50(2):119-35 PMID: 26983668
  • Brown KN, Gonzalez L. Leriche syndrome. StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2019 Jan-2019 Feb 18. PMID:30855836
  • Cardounell SZ, Gonzalez L. Carotid Artery Fibromuscular Dysplasia. StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2019 Jan-2019 Feb 21.PMID: 30855787
  • Sulger E, Gonzalez L. Mesenteric Venous Thrombosis. StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2017 Jun-2017 Oct 1. PMID: 29083683
  • Waheed A, Kassem MM, Gonzalez L. Carotid Contusion. StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2017 Jun-2017 Oct 15. PMID: 28846225
  • Monita MM, Gonzalez L. Mesenteric Ischemia, Acute. StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2017 Jun-2017 Feb 8. PMID: 28613722
  • Kassem MM, Gonzalez L. Popliteal Artery Aneurysm. StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2017 Jun-2017 Oct 9. PMID: 28613613
  • Kassem MM, Gonzalez L. Splenic Artery Aneurysm. StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2017 Jun-2017 Oct 13. PMID: 28613599

Textbook Chapters

  • Gonzalez L, Bechara CF, Pisimisis GT (2015) Peripheral Venous Insufficiency. In GN Levine, Color Atlas of Cardiovascular Disease (915-930). Philadelphia, PA: Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers. ISBN-13: 978-9351522447
  • Dai M, Gonzalez L, Fong, Y. (2010) Viral-Based Therapies for Primary and Secondary Liver Cancer. In PA Clavien Malignant Liver Tumors: Current and Emerging Therapies (352-367). West Sussex, UK: Blackwell Publishing. ISBN: 978-1-405-17976-8

Ratings & Reviews

Ratings and reviews below are gathered from the Press Ganey Clinician and Group Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CG CAHPS) survey. CG CAHPS is a standardized survey that is used to measure a patient's experience in the physician office setting. Ratings are an average of all responses to questions about a provider's care, with five stars being the highest.
5.0
Recommend this provider office
5.0
Provider explain in way you understand
5.0
Provider listen carefully to you
5.0
Show respect for what you say
5.0
Spend enough time with you
5.0
Rate provider 0-10
4.9
Know important info medical history
03/19/26
Always concerned about my health and healing. - Verified patient
03/19/26
Always friendly and concerned about how I'm feeling. - Verified patient
03/09/26
Dr. Gonzalez was wonderful and really took time to talk to me. My first appointment was very informative and educational. - Verified patient
03/09/26
Doctors and their assistants were informed and knowledgeable about my condition and had consulted with eachother before. Very appreciative of their being proactive and prepared to meet me. - Verified patient
02/23/26
Dr Gonzalez is an excellent provider and surgeon!!! She is very knowledgeable, explains things very well and cares for her patients! - Verified patient