Elissa J. Santoro, M.D., is the founder of the Breast Care and Treatment Center in Livingston, New Jersey and has more than four decades of achievements in her specialty. Not only is she a well-renowned specialist in breast surgical oncology, Dr. Santoro has been selected as the number one oncologist by Patient Preferred Magazine. As a board certified surgeon, with great success with patients, her compassion and expertise has led to her five-star rating by patients.
The road to Dr. Santoro’s medical career at The College of Saint Elizabeth, Convent Station, New Jersey, where she graduated in 1960 with an A.B. in chemistry and honors in Theology. In 1965, she graduated from the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania, where she was awarded a Doctor of Medicine Degree, a Student Research Fellowship in Pathology and recognition for excellence in Pathology. While attending the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania from 1965 to 1966, she had a Straight Surgical Internship. Her General Surgical Residency was completed in 1970 at Saint Vincent’s Hospital in New York City, where she was the first woman to be named Chief Surgical Resident. While at the hospital, she was awarded an American Cancer Society Clinical Fellowship. From 1970 to 1971, she received a Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Cancer Training from the National Institute of Health at New York Medical College.
In 1976, Dr. Santoro limited her practice exclusively to breast surgical oncology and practices at the Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, now RWJ Barnabas. Procedures performed by Dr. Santoro include various breast disorders, including oncoplastic surgery, such as nipple areola skin sparing mastectomy, partial mastectomy with mastopexy with a plastic surgeon, magseed localization for lumpectomy, sentinel node biopsy and axillary node dissection.
Dr. Santoro is a Diplomat of the American Board of Surgery, maintains memberships in several professional societies and is still very active. The various offices Dr. Santoro has held include Chairman of the New Jersey Division of the American Cancer Society; President of the NJ American Cancer Society; Chairwoman of the Essex County American Cancer Society; Medical Advisor to Research and Recovery, Post-Mastectomy Program, NJ American Cancer Society; Board of Trustees, College of Saint Elizabeth and Medical Advisory Board of the Susan G. Komen Cancer Foundation.
She has also appeared on several televised educational programs regarding breast health issues and has written and co-authored numerous publications related to breast diseases and treatments. Dr. Santoro has worked with New Jersey State legislators to develop a Woman’s Health Department and increased funds for Breast Cancer Research. She also received the First Annual Christine Todd Whitman’s Award for Outstanding Woman in the Field of Medicine. It should come as no surprise that Dr. Santoro is consistently named as one of the “Top Doctors” in the New York metropolitan area by the Castle Connolly Group and is listed in the International Who’s Who of Professionals.
