Have any of you had Dr. Colleen McCarthy

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Alicia70598
Alicia70598 Member Posts: 191
edited November 2017 in Breast Reconstruction

I'm considering doing a lat flap with her at Sloan-Kettering, but I don't know much about her. If you have experience with this surgeon, please tell me about your experience. Thank you!

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  • Bigapple09
    Bigapple09 Member Posts: 440
    edited June 2010

    I was scheduled to do a DIEP with her on 5/19/10 because my original PS there could not get me in until 11/2010, I actually canceled because Dr. Ron Isreali was able to perform the procedure and was allowed to join my insurance plan for a single patient contract.

    I think Lilliah (she is on the exchange city thread a lot) used Dr. McCarthy for regular implant reconstruction. My understanding is that Dr. McCarthy was trained and practiced in CN for many years before coming to the states.

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  • Alicia70598
    Alicia70598 Member Posts: 191
    edited June 2010

    Good to hear from you. I think I know who it was there that couldn't do this til November. Is there any reason you opted for Dr. Ron Israeli instead of Dr. McCarthy? Is he more experienced with DIEP flaps?

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  • Lilah
    Lilah Member Posts: 4,898
    edited June 2010

    I actually did not use Dr. McCarthy -- but only because I had been recommended to Dr. Pusic (who works there with McCarthy) and I really liked Dr. Pusic so never met another PS.  Both are from Canada... sorry I can't help.

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  • Bigapple09
    Bigapple09 Member Posts: 440
    edited June 2010

    Hi Alicia;

    I went with him for a number of reasons. A big reason was that I could not stand the thought of having to get to 53rd street for follow ups, I figured I was going to have mobility issues and if anything went wrong at home, getting to MSK was going to be difficult. I was also concerned that they don't seem to do a lot of flaps. and even in my case they did not recommend the flap over the implant which I have come to learn really was not appropriate given the radiation to my right side. I was also concerned that they would bot be as sensitive to making sure that my abdomen looked attractive after the diep (not the same concern with a LAT, and that they would not likely be sculpting my stomach to make sure that it looked uniform. I was concerned that I'd have this flat stomach and still have love handles and would look very strange in clothing.

    I was not able to get a lot of info on McCarthy, I tried researching her, but there was not much and I was not scheduled to even meet her till 3 weeks before the procedure,

    I was not confident that they would be adaptable in the OR. When I had my original surgery, the plan was that if the rads side was a problem that they would put in expanders. The rads side was a problem, the PS said so after the surgery, but they went with the one step anyway. My result in the PS's own words was "funky and that is why we don't like one step." which leads to the question "then why didn't you put in an expander?" He also had my permission to do a DIEP if needed. Now my non rads side looked great, so I don;t think i would have the same reservations if it was a straight forward case.

    Also MSK is very protocol driven and they do not deviate from protocol, which has come to bother me from a reconstruction perspective, also I was given information in an incomplete manner and the only in drips and drabs (about surgery, not my other care). When I came down with the infection they removed the implant before isolating the bacteria and trying to treat the infection without the loss of the device and told me it would be three months before I could have a new implant, once we got to three months it was, well, you can't have an implant because you don't fit the protocol, and I can't do a DIEP till November, and you might lose the nipple.

    When I went to Dr I, I really loved the way I was treated, there was no feeling that this was not the most important thing in the world. He told me right up front someone with rads and the infection was definitely not a candidate for an implant, that he could make a breast using a stacked flap and there was no issue about saving the nipple. He was very sensitive to my feelings and ,my wanting to avoid a scar anywhere that would show. He really took the time to sit with me and explain everything and show me pictures and put me in touch with a woman with a similar case. He also came very highly recommended by many women on this site, med mal attys and oncologists. So there were a lot of reasons I went with him.

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  • Alicia70598
    Alicia70598 Member Posts: 191
    edited June 2010

    Wow, I had the opposite situation, where my surgeon at another hospital kept trying to save the implant to the point where removing it now without bringing in healthy tissue is risky. He's the one who originally suggested an immediate lat flap to bring in health tissue. The PS I originally saw at MSK, we'll call him November Man, originally spoke of the typical protocol with cellulitis but said my sugeon's idea made sense too. He then offered to discuss the situation with his colleagues and get back to me. They advised me to do an immediate lat flap. Dr. McCarthy, who I saw last week, spent a lot of time with me explaining the options and pointing out specific aspects of my situation and how she would address them surgically. I was quite impressed.

    Also, part of the reason I'm probably going to switch my surgeon to MSK is that they seem to have better quality controls in place, and the money to hire nurses to work in the surgeons' offices. In my situation, my problems did not arise in the OR but in the aftercare. Maybe my view of the surgical care at MSK is too rosey, based on my oncology experience their. I find myself wondering if I should switch from my own surgeon, who has 20 years of experience, to a relatively young surgeon who hasn't done the procedure as much.

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  • Bigapple09
    Bigapple09 Member Posts: 440
    edited June 2010

    I think maybe see if she can put you in touch with a patient of her's who had the same procedure and see what thier experiance was and look at pictures of her work. The hospital care at MSK was great, the nurses on the 10th floor are saints and you really don't get that kind of care any where. If you do go with MSK, try and make sure you wind up on the breast floor (10) its all women and it is so calm and well staffed with little lounge areas where you can sit. I spent over a week at MSK last year and during my last stay I was moved to another floor on the last day and the contrast was huge, (they were renovating 10) .

    I know there are some guys at Beth Isreal and Mt Sinia that do Lats, there is a member Cini1 who is using some people at Mt Sinai for a DIEP (also micro surgery) and she is very happy with them. If you go to the recostruction forum there may be a thread or two on just Lats and maybe you can find someone who has worked with mcCarthy there.

    I wish I could have been more help. Dr. November is great, but it just did not make sense for me to wait.

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  • sweatyspice
    sweatyspice Member Posts: 922
    edited June 2010

    I consulted with Dr. McCarthy because I'd have to wait months and months for the other PSs who worked with the BS I was thinking of using.  She was not my first choice, but I figured I'd at least meet her.

    I wanted a unilateral DIEP, she thought I didn't have enough belly fat.  She was the onlyPS I consulted with who felt that way, and given how much flab there is, I couldn't accept her opinion.

    In the end, I decided not to have my care at Sloan because I just wan't comfortable with their plastics dep't.  And, in the end, I also didn't choose mastectomy. 

    Sloan seemed to push implant surgery and only considered other surgeries if there were no alternatives.  I really didn't want an implant, so their focus was a big problem for me. 

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  • Alicia70598
    Alicia70598 Member Posts: 191
    edited July 2010

    Hi all,

    I want to let you know that I had the lat flap with Dr. McCarthy last week, and she did a great job. I was impressed with the whole surgery experience at MSK, including all the info they give you on self care. The morning after surgery, they had me go to an exercise class there. Also, I've never been in a quieter hospital, and the food is really good. 

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  • Lilah
    Lilah Member Posts: 4,898
    edited July 2010

    LOL Alicia -- I called MSK Hospital "Hotel Hospital" because they have room service!  You call and ask for what you want, when you want -- very unhospital-like.

    Sweaty -- Not to take away from your experience or impression of Sloan, I just want to say that I chose an implant for my unilateral MX but had the distinct impression that my PS would have been just as happy (if not happier) to do a TRAM (which is what I originally thought I was going to do when I first consulted with her).  I decided to do implant because it is less invasive surgery than TRAM and since I was not radiated I had no issues there... also being diabetic all risks are always greater for me and overall TRAM had greater complication risks in all areas except for potential infection.  My surgery went very well and I am very pleased with the PS I used at Sloan. 

    I agree with others who have praised the nursing staff there both in the physician's offices and in the hospital.  In addition I think Sloan is terrific about keeping patients informed overall re: pre-care, after-care, etc.

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  • Alicia70598
    Alicia70598 Member Posts: 191
    edited July 2010

    Hey Lilah, That room service bit is amazing, except I learned about it the hard way when I finally asked what time breakfast would be served. 

    I agree about the nursing staff, and I'm impressed that you get to see a nurse in the physician's office. That was not the case where I started my surgery, which was also a major hospital.

    @Sweaty, from what I was told, they like to keep open the option of flap surgery in case something goes wrong with the initial reconstruction. 

      

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  • Helen1234
    Helen1234 Member Posts: 2
    edited November 2017

    Hello,

    This is my first posting and don't really know how to use the forum. Tried to add my diagnosis and treatments to my profile but don't see how. I had double MX in MSK with Dr. McCarthy and now considering DIEP instead of implant (I had radiation treatment). Does anyone have reconstruction experience with Dr. McCarthy you would like to share?

    Thank you,

    Helen

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  • Helen1234
    Helen1234 Member Posts: 2
    edited November 2017

    Sorry, correction, I had double MX in MSK and Dr. McCarthy is my PS. -Helen

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