Dr. Polly McKinstry grew up in Pennsylvania where both her father and grandfather were family doctors, igniting her early passion for medicine. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa, with Honors from Swarthmore College, and graduated from Yale University School of Medicine.

Dr. McKinstry received her ophthalmology residency training at Albert Einstein/Montefiore Medical Center in New York where she began to specialize in eyes with a burgeoning interest in how surgery could be used as a tool to improve vision, eye health and the appearance of the eyes. She went on to complete a multidisciplinary fellowship in Ophthalmic Plastic and Orbital Reconstructive Surgery at the prestigious UCLA Jules Stein Eye Institute.

Dr. McKinstry is one of a very select group of surgeons that are both board-certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology AND a member of the American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (ASOPRS.org).  She served as a member of the Education Committee and was an Oral Examiner for ASOPRS for decades.  She has been an Assistant Clinical Professor at UCLA for years, and she continues to be one of the invited dissection course faculty for the UCLA Orbital Masters Symposium, and the UCLA Aesthetic Eyelid and Facial Rejuvenation Course for over thirty years.

Dr. Mckinstry closed her practice in Laguna Hills and now practices in Newport Beach, California, where she is highly sought after for her expertise in Aesthetic and Reconstructive Oculoplastic Surgery. She is a skilled, compassionate physician known for the level of personal care and attentiveness she gives each patient.

Dr. McKinstry and her husband of nearly 4 decades, Arthur Astorino, Jr MD, a successful ophthalmologist, met during training. They live in Laguna Hills in Orange County, California. Their adult son, Troy, and his wife, Sam, and their two young sons, Tommy and James, live in Northern California. Their daughter, Casey, lives in Los Angeles. In her spare time, Dr. McKinstry enjoys staying fit and staying on top of her game with CrossFit, riding and jumping horses, and swimming. In 2025, she was first in her division in the international championship CrossFit Games. She enjoys time with her family and grandchildren.