Robert J. Downey, MD, FACS

Robert J. Downey, MD, FACS

Thoracic Surgeon

My Role at MSK

Areas of Expertise

My Specialties

  • Lung Cancer
  • Mediastinal Tumors
  • Mesothelioma
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About Me

What I Do at MSK
  • Co-Director, Specialized Advanced Care Unit
Get To Know Me

I am a chest surgeon who specializes primarily in the treatment of three groups of patients: those with lung cancer, those with cancers that have spread to the lung from other sites, and those with tumors that arise from structures in the chest other than the lung, such as the thymus gland or the chest wall.

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My clinical work outside of the operating room is focused on administering Memorial Sloan Kettering’s Surgical Advanced Care Unit, which provides a heightened level of postoperative monitoring and care for patients who either have undergone extensive operations, or who present with significant debilities (for example, advanced age or preexisting lung disease) prior to surgery.

My research interests involve investigating whether adult cancers arise from the stem cells that all adults have in their bodies, and, if so, what the implications are for understanding the behavior and treatment of cancer.

My Role at MSK

A thoracic (thor-A-sik) surgeon is a doctor with special training in surgery on the chest, lungs, trachea (windpipe), and thymus.

Areas of Expertise

My Specialties

  • Lung Cancer
  • Mediastinal Tumors
  • Mesothelioma
  • Pulmonary Metastases
  • Pulmonary and Upper Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, including Laser Endoscopy
  • Critical Care Medicine
  • Thoracic Surgical Oncology
  • Tracheobronchial and Esophageal Stents
Education & Honors

Education

  • MD, Columbia University

Residencies

  • Surgery - Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center

Awards and Honors

  • Castle Connolly: America’s Top Doctor (2024)
  • Top Doctors New York Metro Area, Castle Connolly (2023)
  • Castle Connolly: America's Top Doctors (2023)

Fellowships

  • Surgery - Mayo Clinic
  • Surgery - Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center

Board Certifications

  • Thoracic Surgery
  • Surgical Critical Care
  • General Surgery

Insurance Information

Understanding your insurance options is an important part of managing your cancer care. We have relationships with many common healthcare providers and plans.

Aetna

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, EPO PPO, POS, Transplant

Aetna Medicare Advantage (MTA retirees only)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

Blue Cross Blue Shield Federal Employee Program

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, PPO

Blue Cross Blue Shield New York

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO, HMO

Blue Cross Blue Shield states outside of NY/NJ

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, EPO PPO, POS

Blue Cross Health Plus

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Carrum Health

In Network Coverage Type
Supplemental

Cigna

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, HMO

Connecticare

In Network Coverage Type
POS, EPO, HMO

Emblem

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO, HMO

Offers a qualified health plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace. Call Emblem to learn more.

Emblem Essential

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Emblem Medicare Advantage (Medicare Choice PPO Network and VIP Prime Network Only)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO

Empire Blue Cross Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO, DSN

Empire Essential

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Empire Plan / NYSHIP (Blue Cross/UnitedHealthcare split plan)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

Fidelis

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, EPO

Offers a qualified health plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace. Call Fidelis to learn more.

Fidelis Managed Medicaid & HARP

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Fidelis Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

First Health

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

Healthfirst

In Network Coverage Type
EPO, HMO, PPO, POS

Offers a qualified health plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace. Call Healthfirst to learn more.

Healthfirst Managed Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Healthfirst Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, PPO

Healthsmart

In Network Coverage Type
PPO EPO

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey (HMO)

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey (PPO)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey Omnia Tier I (EPO)

In Network Coverage Type
EPO

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey Omnia Tier II (EPO)

In Network Coverage Type
EPO

Horizon Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO

Husky CT Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

Magnacare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO

Straight NJ Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

Straight NY Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

Medicare Part A&B (traditional Medicare)

In Network Coverage Type
Federal Government

Multiplan/Beech Street/PHCS

In Network Coverage Type
Supplemental

MVP

In Network Coverage Type
PPO/OAP

Non-Participating Plans with Out of Network Benefits

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO, HMO

NYC Medicare Advantage Plus for City Employees

In Network Coverage Type
TBD

Oscar

In Network Coverage Type
HMO/EPO

Oxford

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, EPO

World Trade Center Health Program (WTC)

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

Qualcare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, HMO

Tricare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO

UMR

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS

United Healthcare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, HMO

Don't see your carrier or plan? We can help you understand your coverage.

If you don't have health insurance or are worried that your care may not be fully covered, our financial assistance programs may be able to help.

If you have questions about insurance, call us at 646-497-9176.

Contact and Location

Dr. Downey sees patients at three locations.

Office Phone
Location
New York, NY
Basking Ridge, NJ
160 East 53rd Street New York NY 10022
136 Mountain View Boulevard Basking Ridge NJ 07920

Looking to see a doctor at a different location? See all MSK locations.

Colleagues

Doctors at Memorial Sloan Kettering work as teams, with specialists from all different areas. This allows us to consider all your needs together, and to give you the best possible care.

See all Thoracic Service doctors

Clinical Trials

Smiling doctors in the lab
Find a Clinical Trial for You

Memorial Sloan Kettering's doctors and scientists are constantly developing new treatments for cancer. MSK is typically running hundreds of clinical trials at a given time.

You may be able to participate in a clinical trial even if you are new to MSK. Search our online directory to find trial information and see more about who can participate.

Search clinical trials

Research and Publications

Selected Book Chapters
“Resection of colorectal metastases to the lung.” Downey RJ. In: Colorectal Cancer: Multimodality Management. Saltz L, ed. Clifton, NJ: Humana Press; 2002.

“Physiology of bed rest.” Downey RJ. In: The Physiological Basis of Rehabilitation Medicine. 2nd ed. Downey JA, Myers SJ, Gonzalez EG, Lieberman JS, eds. Boston: Butterworth-Heineman; 1994: 448-454.

“Surgical problems in the critically ill oncologic patient.” Downey RJ, Espat J, Hsu FI.  In: Textbook of Critical Care Medicine. 4th ed. Grenvik A, Ayres SM, Holbrook PR, Shoemaker WC, eds. Philadelphia: WB Saunders; 2000.

“Perioperative care of the patient undergoing lung resection.” Downey RJ. Pulmonary Diseases and Disorders. Fishman AP, Elias JA, Fishman J, Grippi MA, Kaiser LR, Senior RM, eds. 3rd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill; 1998.

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“Oncologic emergencies.” Downey RJ, Groeger JS. In: Critical Care. 3rd ed. Civetta JM, Taylor RW, Kirby RR, eds. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 1997: 2245-2253.

“Physiology changes associated with bed rest and major injury.” Downey RJ, Weissman C. In: Downey and Darling’s Physiology Basis of Rehabilitation Medicine. 3rd ed. Gonzalez EG, Myers SJ, Edelstein JE, Lieberman JS, Downey JA, eds. Boston: Buttersworth-Heinemann; 2001.

“Follow-up after lung cancer resection.” Downey RJ. American Cancer Society Atlas of Clinical Oncology: Lung Cancer. Ginsberg RJ. Hamilton, Ontario: BC Decker; 2002.

“Non-small cell lung cancer—stage III disease.” Downey RJ. In: Current Therapy in Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. Yang SC and Cameron DE, eds. Philadelphia: Mosby; 2004.

 

Publications on PubMed

Visit PubMed for a full listing of Dr. Downey’s journal articles. Pubmed is an online index of research papers and other articles from the US National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health.

See all on PubMed

Disclosures

Doctors and faculty members often work with pharmaceutical, device, biotechnology, and life sciences companies, and other organizations outside of MSK, to find safe and effective cancer treatments, to improve patient care, and to educate the health care community.

MSK requires doctors and faculty members to report (“disclose”) the relationships and financial interests they have with external entities. As a commitment to transparency with our community, we make that information available to the public.

Robert J. Downey discloses the following relationships and financial interests:

No disclosures meeting criteria for time period


If you’re a patient at MSK and would like more information about your doctor’s external relationships, please talk with your doctor.

The information published here is a complement to other publicly reported data and is for a specific annual disclosure period. There may be differences between information on this and other public sites as a result of different reporting periods and/or the various ways relationships and financial interests are categorized by organizations that publish such data.


This page and data include information for a specific MSK annual disclosure period (January 1, 2023 through disclosure submission in spring 2024). This data reflects interests that may or may not still exist. This data is updated annually.

Learn more about MSK’s COI policies here. For questions regarding MSK’s COI-related policies and procedures, email MSK’s Compliance Office at [email protected].


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