Training Accreditation a Milestone for Roswell Park Robotic-Surgery Program

BUFFALO, NY - Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center has become the first institution in the United States to be accredited as a Training Institute in Robot-Assisted Surgery by the Société Internationale d'Urologie (SIU). The accreditation allows Roswell Park to participate in the SIU scholarship program for young urologists, a cornerstone of the association's educational mission. These highly regarded awards provide three-month Robot-assisted Mini-fellowships including laparoscopic and robot-assisted skills development and case observership to promising physicians early in their careers.

“As new technologies and tools change the look, feel and structure of urologic practice, high-impact training with experienced surgeons becomes ever more vital,” said Khurshid Guru, MD, Director of the Center for Robotic Surgery at Roswell Park and a world leader in the use of robot-assisted surgery for cancer care. Since 2005, surgeons from around the globe — including teams from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Switzerland and Germany and from top U.S. universities — have received expert training and mentoring at Roswell Park.

“What’s missing at many institutions is a good training environment. Here at Roswell Park we have, with the help of the John R. Oishei Foundation, developed an advanced robot-assisted surgery program that trains novice surgeons through more than 10 hours of simulation-based console time, thereby introducing them to safe basic robot-assisted surgery,” explains Dr. Guru, who co-invented one of the world’s first robotic surgical training simulators and edited the interactive Operative Manual of Robot-Assisted Urologic Surgery.

“We’re eager to pass along insight and practical guidance on the use of robot-assisted cancer surgery to young surgeons through the SIU fellowships,” said James Mohler, MD, Chair of the Department of Urology and Associate Director of Roswell Park.

In 2010, Roswell Park was included on U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospitals–Cancer list; named a Leapfrog Top Hospital; named a Magnet Recognition Program® facility by the American Nurses Credentialing Center; and cited among the Best Places to Work in Academia by The Scientist magazine. The Institute offers postdoctoral and graduate study through the Roswell Park Graduate Division of the University at Buffalo.

About Roswell Park

The mission of Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center is to understand, prevent and cure cancer. Roswell Park, founded in 1898, was one of the first cancer centers in the country to be named a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center and remains the only facility with this designation in Upstate New York. The Institute is a member of the prestigious National Comprehensive Cancer Network, an alliance of the nation’s leading cancer centers; maintains affiliate sites; and is a partner in national and international collaborative programs. For more information, visit Roswell Park’s website at http://www.roswellpark.org, call 1-800-ROSWELL (1-800-767-9355) or email AskRoswell@Roswellpark.org.

About the SIU
The Société Internationale d’Urologie is the world’s only truly international professional organization serving the global community of urologists. Founded in Paris in 1907, the SIU Central Office now serves its members from new premises in Montreal, Canada. For more information, see http://www.siu-urology.org.

Media Contact

Annie Deck-Miller, Senior Media Relations Manager
716-845-8593; annie.deck-miller@roswellpark.org