Loretta Strachowski, MD
Professor
Radiology
School of Medicine

She completed a fellowship in Diagnostic Ultrasound at the University of California San Francisco.

Dr. Strachowski’s areas of expertise are ultrasound and breast imaging. She was Chief of Ultrasound at ZSFG for over 18 years, retiring from the role in 2017. Dr. Strachowski has a hands-on philosophy in Ultrasound, frequently scanning patients herself, and she fervently promotes the same by the residents and fellows in-training. Over the years, she has strongly promoted the radiologists' expertise in obstetrical ultrasound by upholding the highest clinical standards, emphasizing compassionate and timely patient care, and providing enthusiastic teaching.

She is a strong advocate for excellence in the care of underserved high-risk obstetrical patients, performing exams targeted at the identification of complex fetal anomalies and complications of pregnancy. In an effort provide state of the art services to patients, Dr. Strachowski helped to institute a Nuchal Translucency Screening Program to allow 1st trimester genetics screening and assist in prenatal management at ZSFG.

Dr. Strachowski was co-founder of the Avon Comprehensive Breast Care Center at San Francisco General Hospital where she servied as Medical Director for 10 years, promoting a variety of high-quality comprehensive services for women. These include genetic counseling and testing, educational, outreach and support programs and bilingual patient "navigators" assuring every woman is supported and empowered despite perceived cultural and linguistic differences. In 2006, Dr. Strachowski assisted in bringing the Mobile Mammography Van program to serve the Community Health Network of San Francisco, addressing barriers to access and screening. In addition, in 2010, she instituted a Breast MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) and MRI guided breast biopsy program to complete the spectrum of comprehensive breast imaging services available at ZSFG.

Dr. Strachowski is a highly regarded teacher. She is a 2009 recipient of the Excellence in Teaching Award from UCSF’s Haile T. Debas Academy of Medical Educators. In 2012, UCSF Diagnostic Radiology residents selected her as the 2012 Hideyo Minagi Outstanding Teacher awardee. In 2014, 2018 and 2020, Dr. Strachowski was named the SFGH Consultant of the Year by the respective graduating resident classes from the UCSF Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences. Dr. Strachowski lectures locally, nationally and internationally and is known for her enthusiastic teaching style, diagnostic pearls and illustrative presentations.

Dr. Strachowski has served on numerous ZSFG and UCSF committees, and is an active member of the Society of Radiologists in Ultrasound (SRU) and American College of Radiology (ACR) where she currently serves as co-chair of the Ovarian/Adnexal Reporting and Data System (O-RADS). She was awarded fellowship of the SRU in 2018 and honorary fellow of the American Osteopathic College of Radiology in 2020; most recently she was nominated fellow of the ACR in 2024. In addition, she has served as a volunteer consultant and educator for the PanAm WHO in Trinidad and Tobago and Grand Cayman and had provided training in breast ultrasound and US-guided procedures in Haiti. Currently, she volunteers with Partners-in-health (PIH) sharing her expertise with health care providers in Rwanda in breast imaging.

• O-RADS US Risk Stratification and Management System: Case-based Learning Approach for Daily Practice.
  Radiographics : a review publication of the Radiological Society of North America, Inc 2023 Hack K, Strachowski L, Andreotti RF, Ghandehari H, Jha P, Lim C, Patel C, Glanc P
• Beyond the AJR: O-RADS Ultrasound Risk Stratification Performs Within Expected Range With Excellent Diagnostic Performance in Nonselected Female Patients in the United States.
  AJR. American journal of roentgenology 2022 Guo Y, Strachowski LM
• Editorial Comment: O-RADS Ultrasound-When to Use and Not to Use, That Is the Question.
  AJR. American journal of roentgenology 2022 Strachowski LM
• The Ovarian/Adnexal Reporting and Data System for Ultrasound: From Standardized Terminology to Optimal Risk Assessment and Management.
  Canadian Association of Radiologists journal = Journal l'Association canadienne des radiologistes 2022 Phillips CH, Guo Y, Strachowski LM, Jha P, Reinhold C, Andreotti RF
• ACR Appropriateness Criteria® Second and Third Trimester Screening for Fetal Anomaly.
  Journal of the American College of Radiology : JACR 2021 Expert Panel on GYN and OB Imaging, Sussman BL, Chopra P, Poder L, Bulas DI, Burger I, Feldstein VA, Laifer-Narin SL, Oliver ER, Strachowski LM, Wang EY, Winter T, Zelop CM, Glanc P
• Pearls and Pitfalls in Imaging of Pelvic Adnexal Torsion: Seven Tips to Tell It's Twisted.
  Radiographics : a review publication of the Radiological Society of North America, Inc 2021 Strachowski LM, Choi HH, Shum DJ, Horrow MM
• O-RADS for Ultrasound: A User's Guide, From the AJR Special Series on Radiology Reporting and Data Systems.
  AJR. American journal of roentgenology 2020 Strachowski LM, Jha P, Chawla TP, Davis KM, Dove CK, Glanc P, Morgan TA, Andreotti RF
• ACR Appropriateness Criteria® Nuchal Translucency Evaluation at 11 to 14 Weeks of Gestation.
  Journal of the American College of Radiology : JACR 2020 Expert Panel on GYN and OB Imaging, Simpson L, Maturen KE, Feldstein VA, Oliver ER, Poder L, Strachowski LM, Sussman BL, Weber TM, Winter T, Zelop CM, Glanc P
• ACR Appropriateness Criteria® Second and Third Trimester Vaginal Bleeding.
  Journal of the American College of Radiology : JACR 2020 Expert Panel on GYN and OB Imaging, Shipp TD, Poder L, Feldstein VA, Oliver ER, Promes SB, Strachowski LM, Sussman BL, Wang EY, Weber TM, Winter T, Glanc P
• How common are traumatic injuries to the epididymis? A study of prevalence, imaging appearance, and management implications.
  Emergency radiology 2020 Choi HH, Taliaferro AS, Strachowski LM, Jha P
• A case of acute onset gigantomastia in a 20-year-old woman.
  Clinical imaging 2020 Vyas S, Greenwood HI, Jankowski T, Freimanis RI, Kallianos KG, Henry TS, Strachowski LM
• ACR Appropriateness Criteria® Assessment of Gravid Cervix.
  Journal of the American College of Radiology : JACR 2020 Expert Panel on Gyn and OB Imaging, Oliver ER, Maturen KE, Feldstein VA, Poder L, Shipp TD, Simpson L, Strachowski LM, Sussman BL, Weber TM, Winter T, Glanc P
• ACR Appropriateness Criteria® Placenta Accreta Spectrum Disorder.
  Journal of the American College of Radiology : JACR 2020 Expert Panel on Women’s Imaging, Poder L, Weinstein S, Maturen KE, Feldstein VA, Mackenzie DC, Oliver ER, Shipp TD, Strachowski LM, Sussman BL, Wang EY, Weber TM, Whitcomb BP, Glanc P
• Imaging of Acute Pelvic Pain: Nonpregnant.
  Radiologic clinics of North America 2020 Olpin JD, Strachowski L
• Capsular synovial metaplasia mimicking radiographic features of implant-associated anaplastic lymphoma.
  Clinical imaging 2019 Linden O, Kelil T, Greenwood H, Lauw M, Strachowski L
• O-RADS US Risk Stratification and Management System: A Consensus Guideline from the ACR Ovarian-Adnexal Reporting and Data System Committee.
  Radiology 2019 Andreotti RF, Timmerman D, Strachowski LM, Froyman W, Benacerraf BR, Bennett GL, Bourne T, Brown DL, Coleman BG, Frates MC, Goldstein SR, Hamper UM, Horrow MM, Hernanz-Schulman M, Reinhold C, Rose SL,…
• Ovarian-Adnexal Reporting Lexicon for Ultrasound: A White Paper of the ACR Ovarian-Adnexal Reporting and Data System Committee.
  Journal of the American College of Radiology : JACR 2018 Andreotti RF, Timmerman D, Benacerraf BR, Bennett GL, Bourne T, Brown DL, Coleman BG, Frates MC, Froyman W, Goldstein SR, Hamper UM, Horrow MM, Hernanz-Schulman M, Reinhold C, Strachowski LM, Glanc P
• Clustered Microcysts on Breast Ultrasound: What Is an Appropriate Management Recommendation?
  AJR. American journal of roentgenology 2017 Greenwood HI, Lee AY, Lobach IV, Carpentier BM, Freimanis RI, Strachowski LM
• Enhancing Your Acoustics: Ultrasound Image Optimization of Breast Lesions.
  Journal of ultrasound in medicine : official journal of the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine 2017 Carpentier B, Hayward J, Strachowski L
• Membranous aplasia cutis congenita: a recognizable lesion on prenatal sonography.
  Journal of ultrasound in medicine : official journal of the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine 2009 Jelin AC, Glenn OA, Strachowski L, Vargas JE
• A pregnancy complicated by endometrial scarring.
  Fertility and sterility 2008 Klatsky PC, Tran ND, Strachowski L
• Recruitment, genetic counseling, and BRCA testing for underserved women at a public hospital.
  Genetic testing 2005 Lee R, Beattie M, Crawford B, Mak J, Stewart N, Komaromy M, Esserman L, Shaw L, McLennan J, Strachowski L, Luce J, Ziegler J