Urology & Kidney Disease News - Cleveland Clinic

6 Urology & Kidney Disease News
Department Chairmen’s Reports
Inderbir S. Gill, MD, MCh
Chairman, Department of Urology
Building on our institute’s foundation
of excellence in patient care and
innovation, Department of Urology
staff continuously strive to provide
leading edge, innovative clinical care
across all urologic sub-specialties.
The Department comprises 32 clinical and research faculty,
and over 40 residents and post-graduate fellows. With a
focus on distinct sub-specialties in a milieu of rigorous
scientific investigation, our staff authored more than 200
scientific publications in 2007. Significant advancements
were made in a variety of research initiatives, including
identifying the role of the XMRV virus in prostate cancer,
expanding the use of laparoscopic partial nephrectomy
for complex tumors while decreasing ischemia time,
developing single-port laparoscopy, and flexible robotic
ureteroscopy. Ongoing and future areas of interest include
focal, targeted ablation of select organ-confined prostate
and kidney cancers, use of stem cells in female incontinence,
and augmented reality, to name just a few.
Going forward, our entire urology program is reorganizing
into additional centers, which are each focused on
subspecialty areas with clearly-defined programs of excellence.
We believe such interdisciplinary synergy will
expedite new discoveries.
These exciting initiatives take on fresh momentum with
the expanded facilities provided by the newly constructed
Glickman Tower. This 12-story state-of-the-art building on
Cleveland Clinic’s main campus will double our capacity
and consolidate all urological and nephrological services
in one location, thus delivering the most high-tech urologic
care, all centered on a “patients-first” approach.
The Department of Urology, supported by our institute’s
solid history of leading-edge research, innovation and
patient care, enthusiastically embarks upon a new era in
healthcare at Cleveland Clinic – an era of new physical
surroundings, a sophisticated patient-centered structure,
and a vigorous drive for cutting-edge advancements in
urologic care. It is a true privilege to be a vibrant part of
such a futuristic environment.
J. Stephen Jones, MD, FACS
Chairman, Department of
Regional Urology
The success of our inaugural year
underscores the vision expressed in
establishing the Department of
Regional Urology as a distinct clinical
and academic department. Based on the fact that most
Cleveland Clinic urologists perform at least part of their
patient care outside the main campus, this department
was created to focus on and support these clinical and
academic activities. Our 20 regional locations, encompassing
11 hospital practices, cover a three-state area across
parts of Ohio (including Cleveland), West Virginia and
Indiana. The majority of clinical volume for a number of
programs, including brachytherapy, cryotherapy, male
infertility, non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer, urolithiasis,
BPH, and female incontinence, occurs in these locations,
assuring that patients benefit from Cleveland Clinic care
in the optimal setting.
When I received the distinct privilege of the chairmanship
of the Department of Regional Urology in 2007, it was clear
that this was a special—unprecedented—opportunity. The
department began with 26 urologists, most of whom are
fellowship-trained, and all of whom base their career focus
on achieving and maintaining the highest levels of excellence.
Upon that firmly established clinical foundation we
continue to build a novel academic enterprise offering care
in every urological subspecialty. Partnering with colleagues
in the Department of Urology allows our physicians to lead
the field in innovative care delivery and discovery in both
translational and clinical outcomes research. The academic
productivity of the Department of Regional Urology is
among the highest in the country regarding the number
of peer-reviewed publications, book chapters, and major
presentations at major urologic meetings in the United
States and internationally.
Exciting challenges lie ahead as we begin our second year.
We are expanding our tertiary care services in the region
that already serve as active access points to the Glickman
Urological & Kidney Institute for patients from Ohio,
Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York, Kentucky and
West Virginia. Expanding the residency program within the
department is a major part of this initiative. Finally, plans
are in place for two new urological oncologists to join our
ranks by the end of 2008.
All these changes are occurring in order to offer innovative
ambulatory and hospital-based urological care within
accessible locations to patients throughout the region and
beyond. We are confident these developments are only the
early stages of an exciting future.