Dr. Colleen M. Mccarthy, MD

Dr McCarthy is amazing at what she does. She was very professional and a perfectionist at what she does. Her team is as amazing as she is. I have never doubted my care while being seen by her. I had a mastectomy and went the route of tissue expander and implant. She did an amazing job at matching my other breast and gave me symmetry that was not naturally there. Cancer is never fun but I was made to feel at home and very comfortable during my many, many visits. She is a great doctor.

Dr. McCarthy Let me first start out by saying Dr. McCarthy is a knowledgeable and and caring person. She has a wonderful beside manner. Very compassionate. So thankful that she’s my doctor.

Dr. McCarthy did my initial reconstruction (2015). She started out as a caring Physician and I loved the nursing staff at that time. I needed to have my implant replaced due to a recall and the way she handled it was extremely poor and unprofessional! My husband was with me at each appointment and heard all the conversations. It was like talking to Dr. Jekyll and Mrs. Hyde. She kept contradicting what she had said at the prior appointment and her bedside manner was poor. The results of her work were also not up to par with the excellence found at MSKCC. I would highly recommend Dr. Evan Matros who continually gets 5 star ratings across the board. He is honest, tells the truth, highly skilled, caring and professional in every way! His nursing staff is top notch, too!

TERRIBLE! Please do yourself a favor and steer clear of McCarthy. It is true that she has poor bedside manner, which was tolerable because we felt I was in good hands. Not so much. She botched my reconstruction surgery, after a year of battling and beating cancer, she was supposed to be the light at the end of the tunnel. Instead, she proved to be a dark cloud in an otherwise amazing hospital like MSK. She originally apologized for the error, offered to correct it, and 5 minutes prior to me going into the operating room, came in and told me that it wasn’t her fault, but in fact, it was “a defect with the implant which causes it to flip”, acted as though this is something newly discovered, and told me that there was a YouTube video on how to flip it back. She then flipped the implant into its proper position. RIGHT BEFORE MY SURGERY. I met with her once regarding the deformity, and had not seen her again until 9 months later when this occurred. Despite me having been in her office over… 5 times within that time period. This is more than poor bedside manner, it’s flat out unprofessional and just wrong. She was better off not saying this. I was alone, due to COVID, had to hear this “new” information from her and watch her fix it right before I was sliced open yet again. I went forward with the surgery, I was there, and had gone through the worst depression leading up to this point due to body image issues and feeling deformed, I just wanted it over with. The worst part is that she lied. This is nothing “new” or recently discovered. Yes, the shape of the implant used does have a tendency of flipping - IF the pocket is too large. Which it was, thanks to her. Which I had forgiven, until she came in and demonstrated how I could have actually fixed the appearance of the breast (temporarily), as demonstrated on YouTube! It took one google search to reveal the video, posted three years ago and to reveal that this is nothing new, and in fact, a well known issue. She couldn’t be human and be apologetic about her mistake, she had to blame it on something else. A surgeon of her kind does not belong working with patients who require her services as a result of cancer. It takes a special person, and she is anything but special. Sloan should seriously reconsider who they hire and recommend for their patients. Save yourself the disappointment and unnecessary issues. Please, be kind to yourself.

She provided the worst examination I've ever received. Did not even set both feet in the room or put on her stethoscope.

1. she is not a nice doctor. 2. very long waiting time.

Cancer (excision) surgery can be both dramatic, traumatic and emotionally overwhelming. It is often disfiguring. Plastic reconstructive surgery reverses or corrects the disfigurement caused by the initial cancer surgery. Dr. McCarthy, a plastic surgeon, made a very positive initial impression for several reasons. 1. While other surgeons "danced around" and "trivialized" the reconstructive aspect of my surgery, Dr. McCarthy proposed both general anesthesia and initially, a less-aggressive approach. One surgeon lightly described the "forehead flap" procedure and suggested that only local anesthesia was all that I needed. As it turns out, the other surgeons do these procedures in their private office, not in a true operating room. 2. Dr. McCarthy suggested that general anesthesia is better in a true operating room, and she explained why. She told me the surgery IS dramatic, and that I would have less emotional trauma. Finally, doing the procedure in a true O.R. (operating room) would… offer safety factors not necessarily found in a surgeons private treatment room. 3. Dr. McCarthy also stated that while the INITIAL phase of my surgery IS dramatic, the process involves time and patience. She assured me that I'll have little discomfort, that the only discomfort I'll experience should not exceed five or six hours immediately following the reconstructive surgery, and for a few days there'll be some annoying seepage from the area, but within three to four days, that seepage will diminish. She spelled out the steps without skirting around the issues, but she wasn't so blunt as one other surgeon who discussed rather brusquely and bluntly some of the less pleasant aspects. As the days passed in the first two weeks, everything she said would happen, did happen! She didn't falsely minimize the outcome and what actually would happen. Another doctor proposed a possible lymph node biopsy, casually stating, (and only after being asked), that some permanent, not-correctable facial disfigurement might result. "Yes, you might have permanent facial edema (swelling) but I wouldn't worry about it." Dr. McCarthy stated that the pathology report made such lymph node biopsy unnecessary. This was later confirmed by other dermatologists. 4. Dr. McCarthy was patient with me in describing the procedure. She fielded all of my questions, and I never felt rushed by her. She didn't pressure me to be brief, she was very relaxed in her style. I never felt that her pressing schedule took precedent over my need to ask certain questions. Her answers were delivered slowly, patiently, allowing me time to absorb the information. Another surgeon was too brusque and spent little time. Some others delivered overwhelming amount of information, in a semi-detached way, while Dr. McCarthy had demonstrated far more empathy. 5. I have months to go for healing and "settling in"...still some swollen tissue, but Dr. McCarthy assured me it will all work out. Other physicians who saw her surgery commented that I had excellent results. I'm very confident that in the long run, my reconstructive surgery will be all but invisible as I return to normalcy! I recommend her highly.

Incompetent nursing staff. Cold, uncaring ambience. Several complications in my breast reconstruction that were not explained clearly. If you are looking for warmth, buyer beware

Was shocked to read the review below from Oct. 2014. Dr. McCarthy and her entire staff were absolutely lovely, spent as much time as I needed and truly cared about me as an individual-not just a patient. I believe she is a shy person by nature. Once she gets to know you, she's very compassionate and caring. I would recommend her unconditionally! I never was concerned with her promptness. When dealing with cancer and reconstruction, it is very difficult for people and Dr. McCarthy will give you all the time you need. So wonderful if you are that patient-that's why I always understood if I needed to wait for her. After visits are just for a look to make sure everything is healing properly. If you have questions, bring a list, she is happy to give you all the time needed!

I was referred to Dr. McCarthy by my breast surgeon after being diagnosed with Stage 2b, IDC in 2012. Dr. McCarthy was honest and thorough from day one. She performed reconstruction with expanders and later implants. The process was not easy but the results are amazing. I have a very young child which made recovery a little more challenging, but Dr. McCarthy showed great understanding. I have great admiration for this VERY talented plastic surgeon.