Walter J. McCarthy, MD
#30: 2006-2007
Dr. Walter John McCarthy III is a Professor of Cardiovascular-Thoracic Surgery, Chief of Vascular Surgery and Director of the Vascular Surgery Fellowship at Rush University in Chicago. Raised in Michigan, he graduated from Albion College and then Wayne State University Medical School where he became intrigued with surgery. In 1978, he moved to Chicago and Northwestern University for a stay that would last twenty years. Completing General Surgery under the tutelage of doctors John J. Bergan and James S. T. Yao, a career in Vascular Surgery seemed obvious. After a Vascular Fellowship at Northwestern, he began practice with Doctors Bergan, Yao, William Flinn, and William Pearce who all played important mentoring roles.
While at Northwestern, Dr. McCarthy was involved in the entire spectrum of Vascular Surgery in a tremendously rich environment. He was Chief of Vascular Surgery at the Lakeside VA from 1985 to 1988. Over four years he earned a Master’s Degree in Epidemiology from Harvard University to support a growing interest in outcomes research.
In 1998 he was recruited by Dr. Hassan Najafi to be the Chief of Vascular Surgery at Rush University where there had never been a purely Vascular Surgeon. Responsibilities included the Vascular Fellowship, establishing a separate vascular, non-invasive laboratory and managing complex cases. He was also Chairman of Vascular Surgery while at Cook County Hospital, which is adjacent to Rush, from 1998 to 2001. While at Rush, along with Eileen French-Sherry, he founded a baccalaureate program to teach vascular ultrasound. This program, within the Rush College of Health Sciences, graduates 10 students per year and has just recruited its 5th class. Dr. McCarthy has published over 160 papers and book chapters but is most proud of his involvement in the training of 13 vascular fellows at Northwestern and nine thus far at Rush University.
Dr. McCarthy and his wife, Mary, have three children, Michael, Christy, and Caroline, who are all of college age. His interests include photography, history, travel and cars of all types, but particularly older English sports cars which he collects and remind him of his vascular patients.
