Richard L. Whelan MD, FACS, FASCRS

Dr. Richard L. Whelan has been the Chief of the Colon and Rectal Surgery Service as well as the Chief of Surgical Oncology at Mount Sinai St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital since July 2009. Dr. Whelan had been the Chief of Colon and Rectal Surgery at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital for 18 years. He also held the position of Associate Director of Surgical Oncology at Columbia from 2007-2009.

Dr. Whelan has been selected by his peers as one of the “Best Doctors in New York” for the last 10 years and has also been awarded the “Patients Choice,” “America’s Top Doctor,” and “Top Doctor for Cancer” awards over the last decade.

Dr. Whelan was one of the first surgeons in New York to perform laparoscopic colectomy and has performed over 1,800 minimally invasive colorectal resections (MICR) for cancer, diverticulitis, inflammatory bowel disease, rectal prolapse and constipation. He introduced the hybrid laparoscopic method for rectal cancer in 2001 and also helped develop hand-assisted minimally invasive methods.