Helen C. Mabry, MD
A breast surgeon whose career bridges academic surgery, a dedicated cancer institute, and community practice, now caring for patients in Perrysburg and across Northwest Ohio.
Her story
Dr. Mabry grew up in Northwest Ohio and earned her medical degree with honors at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. She completed her general surgery residency and served as chief resident at the University of South Florida, then trained in hand and microvascular surgery before finding her calling in breast care.
Her oncoplastic breast surgery fellowship at the University of Southern California, under Dr. Melvin Silverstein, shaped how she operates today: remove the cancer completely, and leave the patient looking and feeling whole. From there she joined the John Wayne Cancer Institute in Santa Monica as a breast surgical oncologist and assistant director of its breast center, where she also taught surgical oncology fellows and ran the weekly multidisciplinary tumor board. There she worked alongside Dr. Armando E. Giuliano, a pioneer of sentinel lymph node biopsy and one of the most influential figures in breast cancer surgery, and co-authored several papers with him.
She returned to Ohio in 2012 as Assistant Professor of Surgery at the University of Toledo's Dana Cancer Center, then spent nearly a decade as a breast surgeon in southeast Michigan before joining Mercy Health in Perrysburg. Her practice is entirely breast-focused: benign disease, high-risk patients, DCIS, and invasive breast cancer.
Outside the operating room she speaks often in the community, including on WGTE's The Four Hundred & Nineteen, WTOL 11, and in community talks on the history of breast cancer treatment at Way Public Library, Kingston Residence of Perrysburg, and Ohio Living Swan Creek. She has served as medical director of the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, led a Susan G. Komen-funded mammography program at Toledo Pride, and previously sat on the board of Lambie's Legacy, a Perrysburg breast cancer awareness charity. She lives in Perrysburg with her husband, Andrew.
Education and appointments
- Mercy Health, Perrysburg Surgical SpecialistsBreast Surgical Oncologist · Perrysburg, Ohio · present
- Corewell Health (formerly Beaumont) TrentonBreast Surgeon · Trenton, Michigan · 2016 to 2025
- University of Toledo, Dana Cancer CenterAssistant Professor of Surgery, Center for Breast Care · 2012 to 2015
- Breastlink and Southern California hospitalsBreast Surgeon · Manhattan Beach and Orange, California · 2008 to 2012
- John Wayne Cancer Institute, Saint John's Health CenterBreast Surgical Oncologist, Assistant Director of the Breast Center, SSO fellowship instructor, working with Armando E. Giuliano, MD · Santa Monica · 2005 to 2008
- Oncoplastic Breast Surgery FellowshipUniversity of Southern California, with Melvin Silverstein, MD · 2004 to 2005
- Hand and Microvascular Surgery FellowshipUniversity of South Florida · 2003 to 2004
- General Surgery Residency, Chief ResidentUniversity of South Florida · 1998 to 2003
- Doctor of MedicineThe Ohio State University College of Medicine · 1998
- M.S. ChemistryBowling Green State University · 1994
- B.A. MathematicsSmith College · 1992, with study at the London School of Economics
Certification and professional memberships
Curious by nature.
Dr. Mabry's research has centered on ductal carcinoma in situ, surgical margins, and sentinel lymph node mapping, with papers in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, Annals of Surgical Oncology, and the American Journal of Surgery, and a textbook chapter on breast surgery for Springer. Her current interests include the genetics of breast cancer, tumor heterogeneity, and racial disparities in breast cancer outcomes.
She is also a co-founder and inventor at Boka Sciences (formerly HydraDx), a medical device company whose saliva-based test for hydration and Sjögren's syndrome received FDA registration in 2019.
Meet Dr. Mabry.
New patients and second opinions are welcome. Virtual visits are available.