Richard L. Whelan, MD

Dr. Whelan is a board certified colon and rectal surgeon who trained at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital and the University of Minnesota after graduating from Columbia University s College of Physicians & Surgeons. He was the Chief of Colon and Rectal Surgery at Columbia for 17 years. He held the same position for 5 years at St. Luke s Roosevelt Hospital and 5 more years at Mount Sinai West (formerly Roosevelt Hospital). He is currently the System Chief of Colon and Rectal Surgery for the Northwell Health care system as well as the Chief of Colon and Rectal Surgery at the Northwell Cancer Institute. His clinical practice is currently situated at Lenox Hill Hospital in NYC. His clinical interests include laparoscopic surgery, colorectal cancer, peritoneal malignancies, endoscopic treatment of large sessile colon polyps as well as diverticulitis and anorectal diseases (including hemorrhoids, fissures, fistulas). He has performed over 3000 laparoscopic colorectal resections. He was an early supporter of minimally invasive colorectal surgery and his lab did much early research regarding the immunologic and physiologic impact of both big incision and laparoscopic surgical methods. Dr. Whelan has maintained a basic science lab and clinical research unit for 23 years and is an author on over 150 peer reviewed publications. Current research areas include advanced endoscopic polyp removal (endoscopic submucosal dissection and endoscopic mucosal resection methods), perioperative treatment of colorectal cancer during the week prior and month immediately following surgery, PIPAC (aerosol chemotherapy for patients with peritoneal cancer metastasis). Dr. Whelan is the Principal Investigator for an FDA approved PIPAC study at Northwell.