Cheryl Olson, MD
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Breast & general surgeon, Cheryl Olson, MD, joined Surgical Associates of La Jolla in 1998. While on staff at Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla, Dr. Olson has been a leader in the community serving in numerous leadership roles and is currently the Governor of the American College of Surgeons, San Diego Chapter. Exemplifying the quality of her care and the utmost respect of her peers, she has been selected as one of "San Diego’s Top doctors” 7 times.
During her medical education, she served a two-year tour aboard the USS Simon Lake during Desert Storm and was an attending surgeon at Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton. She has a deep commitment to military families and retirees.
Dr. Olson’s expertise and comprehensive cancer care encompasses state-of-the-art procedures for treating breast cancer including in office ultrasound guided biopsy, breast conservation using oncoplastic and “hidden scar” techniques as well as nipple areolar sparing mastectomy coordinated with immediate reconstruction by expert plastic surgeons. She is also one of only two breast surgeons in San Diego offering intraoperative electron radiation therapy(IOERT) to appropriate candidates receiving breast conserving treatment for cancer. All care she provides is highly specialized and tailored to the unique needs of her patients.
Dr. Olson has a special interest in utilizing the most advanced minimally invasive techniques. This includes laparoscopic procedures for cholecystectomy, hernia repair, and removal of portions of the colon. She has expertise in use of the robotic surgery system for the more complex surgical procedures and was the first general surgeon at Scripps to become skilled in the use of the robotic surgical system using it regularly to perform complex colon resections, hiatal hernia repair and incisional hernia repair. In 2012 she was the first surgeon at any Scripps hospital to perform a robotic single incision cholecystectomy (gallbladder removal).
The practice of medicine and surgery is her passion. Dr. Olson considers it essential to provide her patients with the highest level of coordinated care for any surgical need. She strives to treat each patient with the compassion and expertise she would want for her own family.
Medical School
University of Colorado Health Sciences Center
Internship & Residency
Naval Medical Center in San Diego
Board Certification
American Board of Surgery, 1997 & 2006
Special Procedures & Techniques
Surgical Oncology, Minimally Invasive Surgery
