Trailblazers. Surgeon-scientists. Clinic-powerhouses.
Just some terms to describe past and present leadership of Yale School of Medicine’s Department of Urology at its recent “Honoring Our Legacy” event.
While the specialty is celebrating 10 years as a formal department within the school, Yale urology care, research, and teaching go back much farther, as current Chair Isaac Y. Kim, MD, PhD, MBA, highlighted.
The first cystoscopy [a procedure to help view the urinary tract] performed in New Haven, back in 1913, was done by a Yale professor. Urologic surgery soon followed as its own discipline, which included cancer treatments of the prostate and bladder.
Residency in urology was born at Yale in 1924, producing several academic leaders in the field. In the late 60s, Yale’s chief of urology, Bernard Lytton, MD, was instrumental in starting the first dialysis unit in Connecticut. He also was involved with the first renal transplant.
By 1987, Robert Weiss, MD, was at the helm. He initiated Yale’s pediatric urology program, established an active research laboratory, and spearheaded several collaborations, including an important partnership with radiology to treat renal obstructions.
“Now, Dr. Kim is creating both an academic and education-based urological destination center here,” touted Weiss at the April 29th event, which was attended by Yale urology faculty, residents, clinical providers, and alumni.
Kim is only the second chair of urology since it became an independent department. Peter G. Schulam, MD, PhD, was its first, coming to Yale from UCLA in 2012. Schulam now serves as global head of medical devices at Johnson & Johnson.
I think a lot of exciting work is going on in our department.
Isaac Y. Kim, MD, PhD, MBA
He says he ultimately pivoted to industry because of his love of surgery and answering the provocative questions of research—things he learned in academia. He sees real opportunity for further collaboration between sectors in helping to design technology that enhances what surgeons do.
“When someone is diagnosed with prostate or bladder cancer, the first thing they ask is, ‘Where should I go for treatment?’ [As a specialty, globally] we’re not where we need to be yet. These treatments and cures need to be as safe and typical as flying in a plane,” said Schulam. “I think the future is certainly bright for urology at Yale,” he added. “We have nationwide visibility [in attracting new faculty and residents].”
Current faculty and residents presented several examples of forward-thinking processes/studies happening now in the department or being looked at, such as:
- Targeted therapy for locally advanced and metastatic urothelial cancer
- A qualitative/patient-centered approach when diagnosing/treating/monitoring prostate cancer
- Describing health care disparities more as structural factors
- Using machine learning and data science to reduce the need for some biopsies
- Use of ablation/focal therapy for more prostate cancer cases
- Continuing improvements/modifications of HoLEP surgery (holmium laser enucleation of the prostate) [currently the only provider of this procedure in Connecticut.]
- An innovative, “bedside-first” approach to urologic research and treating tumors
- A new robotics surgery curriculum
- Identifying increased risk in sarcopenia patients of mRCC (metastatic renal cell carcinoma)
- Ongoing review of opioid use within the surgical community
- Researching prevention science/strategies regarding women’s bladder health
"I think a lot of exciting work is going on in our department,” said Kim. “This gives a glimpse of the future and what Yale urology will become.”
A living, evolving legacy with just the right mix of world class patient care, innovative research, and training for up-and-coming urologists.