Dr. Walter E Longo MD

Expert Publications

• Appendicitis in patients with previous spinal cord injury.
• Pneumatosis intestinalis.
• Clostridium difficile toxins influence hepatocyte protein synthesis through the interleukin 1 receptor.
• Idiopathic megarectum complicating pregnancy: report of a case.
• Treatment options for advanced pelvic recurrence of rectal cancer.
• Metastatic gastric maltoma: a rare cause of obscure gastrointestinal bleeding.
• Renal cell carcinoma in patients with prior spinal cord injury.
• Morbidity and mortality of gastrectomy for cancer in Department of Veterans
• Restorative proctocolectomy following orthotopic liver transplantation for primary sclerosing cholangitis.
• Acute surgical emergencies in inflammatory bowel disease.
• Cholecystectomy in patients with previous spinal cord injury.
• The preoperative assessment and postoperative surveillance of patients with colon and rectal cancer.
• Inadvertent transmural India ink tattooing simulating intestinal infarction.
• Giant submucosal sigmoid colon lipoma.
• Colovaginal fistulas. Etiology and management.

Media Releases

Get to know Colorectal Surgeon Dr. Walter E. Longo, who serves patients in New Haven, Connecticut.

A dual board-certified and fellowship-trained colorectal surgeon, Dr. Longo serves as the Chief of Colon and Rectal Surgery at Yale Medicine. He cares for patients who are 19 and older, using surgical and nonsurgical approaches to treat problems ranging from hemorrhoids to Crohn’s disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and ulcerative colitis, as well as anal, colon, and rectal cancers.

Colorectal care has changed dramatically with the use of minimally invasive surgery, as well as chemotherapy, radiation, and biologic medicines. More research is focused on better drug delivery for treating inflammatory bowel disease and less invasive surgical techniques for all afflictions. “For a lot of problems that were chronic and sometimes ending in mortality, we are now improving survival and quality of life. In some cases, surgeons can take more conservative approaches to treating conditions for which surgery used to be the only solution” said Dr. Longo.

Inspired by his father to become a surgeon, he started his career in medicine by earning his medical degree in 1984 from New York Medical College, one of the nation’s largest private health sciences universities. He performed his internship at the Yale University Medical Center, as well as his residency at Yale University School of Medicine, where he was named Chief Resident. Wanting to further his education, he performed a research fellowship at the same educational venue. Earning a Master of Business Administration degree from St. Louis University in 2001, he gained fellowship status at the internationally recognized Cleveland Clinic Foundation.

“Being a surgeon is a calling. You can have people who are very sick, and you can perform an operation and quickly improve their quality of life. I like colorectal surgery because you can take care of simple things, complex illnesses, benign disease, and cancer. It gives you a whole spectrum” expressed Dr. Longo.

With three decades of experience in practice, he is board-certified in colon and rectal surgery by the American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery, and is board-certified in general surgery by the American Board of Surgery. He is also a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (FACS) and a Fellow of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons (FASCRS).

Alongside his clinical role, Dr. Longo serves as a Professor of Gastrointestinal Surgery, and of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Services at Yale School of Medicine. He is affiliated with Smilow Cancer Hospital, with a mission to treat chronic illness and cancer by improving survival and overall quality of life.

Colorectal surgery is a field in medicine dealing with disorders of the rectum, anus, and colon. The field is also known as proctology, but this term is now used infrequently within medicine and is most often employed to identify practices relating to the anus and rectum in particular. Colorectal surgeons specialize in the preoperative, operative, and postoperative care of patients with colorectal disorders. They have comprehensive knowledge about general surgery and in the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the rectum, anus, and colon. 

Throughout the years, Dr. Longo has been the recipient of numerous awards and accolades, including the degree of Doctor Honoris Causa as a distinguished scholar for his contributions to his field. Furthermore, he has been named a Connecticut Magazine Top Doc (2015, 2016), New York Magazine Top Doctors (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014), Castle Connolly America’s Top Doctors (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020), New York Metro Area Top Doctors, and America’s Top Doctors for Cancer.

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