Meet Head and Neck Cancer Surgeon Snehal Patel

When head and neck surgeon Snehal Patel meets with patients and their families, he walks them step-by-step through the treatment plan and ensures that they receive the most-effective surgery, when that is the best approach for the patient.
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 Pictured: Snehal G. Patel

Snehal G. Patel, MD, FRCS

Head and Neck Surgeon

Areas of Expertise

Conditions I Treat

  • Head and neck cancers
  • Mouth (oral) cancer
  • Throat cancers and conditions

My Specialties

  • Minimally invasive surgery
  • Endoscopic surgery
  • Laser surgery
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Dr. Patel's Office Information
Languages: English
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Get to Know Me

Dr. Patel is a surgeon who has particular expertise in the multidisciplinary treatment of tumors located in the head and neck area. He is especially interested in minimally invasive endoscopic laser treatment for tumors of the voice box and pharynx, with the goal of preserving the ability to speak and swallow.

At Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, he is an integral member of a team of professionals that strives to provide patients with top-quality cancer care, while also placing an emphasis on maintaining or enhancing quality of life. He recognizes that while curing cancer is the ultimate goal, issues such as the ability to speak and swallow and appearance after therapy are equally important to his patients’ well-being. He collaborates closely with his colleagues in radiation and medical oncology, plastic surgery, dentistry and prosthetics, neurosurgery, thoracic surgery, endocrinology, nursing, and speech and swallowing rehabilitation to help his patients achieve this goal.

Dr. Patel has written many peer-reviewed scientific papers on various head and neck cancers and a link to a list of his publications in the PubMed database is available on this page. As part of his personal commitment to education, he has co-authored two major textbooks on head and neck surgery and oncology and written several book chapters. He also lectures at national and international meetings on head and neck cancer.

Dr. Patel has a strong research interest in evaluating the outcomes of therapy and quality of life in patients with head and neck cancer. With his colleagues in plastic surgery and psychiatry, he is involved in several ongoing projects to study these issues in patients who have been treated for head and neck cancer. He also believes strongly in educating patients and cancer survivors about their disease and the effects of treatment. With this in mind, he is leading the group’s effort to develop customized educational materials for patients that provide information about their type of cancer and its treatment. His goal is to develop treatment strategies that will improve outcomes for his patients, not only in terms of better cancer control, but also improved quality of life after treatment.

What I Do at MSK

I'm a head and neck surgeon, which is a doctor with special training in surgery on the head and neck. This includes the larynx, lips, mouth, nose, salivary glands, and throat.

  • Attending Surgeon
Areas of Expertise

Conditions I Treat

  • Head and neck cancers
  • Mouth (oral) cancer
  • Throat cancers and conditions
  • Laryngeal (larynx) cancer
  • Thyroid cancer and conditions

My Specialties

  • Minimally invasive surgery
  • Endoscopic surgery
  • Laser surgery
Education & Honors

Education

  • MBBS, SSG Hospital & Medical College/The MS University of Baroda
  • MD, SUNY at Albany

Residencies

  • General Surgery - SSG Hospital & Medical College
  • Head and Neck Surgery - The Royal Marsden Hospital

Fellowships

  • Surgical Oncology/Head and Neck Surgery/Microvascular Reconstructive Surgery - Tata Memorial Hospital

Board Certifications

  • Surgery

Insurance Information

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

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Contact and Location

Office Phone
Location
New York, NY
Uniondale, NY
David H. Koch Center for Cancer Care at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
530 East 74th Street New York NY 10021
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Memorial Sloan Kettering Nassau
1101 Hempstead Turnpike Uniondale NY 11553
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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.

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Clinical Trials

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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.

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Research and Publications

Textbooks
American Cancer Society Atlas of Head and Neck Tumors. Shah JP, Patel SG. Hamilton, Ontario, CA: BC Decker Publishing; 2001.
Named a Top Ten Bestseller in Oncology by Lancet Oncology in November 2002.

Head and Neck Surgery. 3rd ed. Shah JP, Patel SG. London, UK: Elsevier Science, 2003.
Received the George Davey Howells Memorial Prize from the University of London for the “most distinguished published contribution to the advancement of otolaryngology during the preceding five years.”

Jatin Shah’s Head and Neck Surgery and Oncology. 4th ed. Shah JP, Patel SG, Singh B. London, UK: Mosby 2012.

Chapters in Textbooks
“Tumors of the oropharynx.” Shah JP, Patel SG. In: American Cancer Society Clinical Atlas on Cancer of the Head and Neck. Hamilton, Ontario, CA: BC Decker Inc., 2001.

“Sentinel lymph node biopsy for head and neck.” Patel SG, Kraus DH. In: Sentinel Node Biopsy. Cody H, ed. London, UK: Martin Dunitz Ltd., 2001

“Tumours of the oral cavity.” Patel SG, Archer DJ, Henk JM. In: The Principles of Management of Head and Neck Cancer. Rhys Evans PH, Gullane P, Montgomery P, eds. London, UK: ISIS Publishing, 2003.

“Tumours of the oropharynx.” Rhys Evans PH, Patel SG, Henk JM. In: The Principles of Management of Head and Neck Cancer. Rhys Evans PH, Gullane P, Montgomery P, eds. London, UK: ISIS Publishing, 2003.

“Tumors of the larynx.” Patel SG, Rhys Evans PH. In: The Principles of Management of Head and Neck Cancer. Rhys Evans PH, Gullane P, Montgomery P., eds. London, UK: ISIS Publishing, 2003.

“Atlas of salivary gland surgery.” Patel SG. In: Salivary Gland Diseases. Witt RL, ed. New York: Thieme Medical Publishers, 2005.

“Epidemiology and prevention of head and neck cancer.” Ganly I, Patel SG. In Stell and Maran’s Textbook of Head and Neck Surgery and Oncology. 5th ed. Watkinson J and Gilbert RW, eds. London, UK: Hodder Arnold, 2012.

 

Publications on PubMed

Visit PubMed for a full listing of Dr. Patel’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

Members of the MSK Community 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. These activities outside of MSK further our mission, provide productive collaborations, and promote the practical application of scientific discoveries.

MSK requires doctors, faculty members, and leaders 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. Not all disclosed interests and relationships present conflicts of interest. MSK reviews all disclosed interests and relationships to assess whether a conflict of interest exists and whether formal COI management is needed.

Snehal G. Patel 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, 2024 through disclosure submission in spring 2025). 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 ecoi@mskcc.org.


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