MANHASSET, NY -- The North Shore-LIJ Health System today announced the opening of the Robert S. Waldbaum Center, a Manhasset satellite office of the prestigious Arthur Smith Institute for Urology. The Robert S. Waldbaum Center – named in honor of the North Shore University Hospital’s chairman emeritus of urology who has practiced in Manhasset for more than 30 years – is located on the first floor of 1554 Northern Boulevard in Manhasset.  The Waldbaum Center will carry on his legacy of excellence in urologic care, focusing on minimally invasive surgical approaches, with a world-recognized cadre of physicians.

In addition to Dr. Waldbaum the office will be staffed by Drs. Joph Steckel, Michael Schwartz, Lee Richstone and Farzeen Firoozi. The center will offer a full spectrum of unparalleled urologic care, including general urology, all urologic malignancies, kidney stones, enlarged prostate, ureteral obstruction, men’s and women’s voiding dysfunction, and incontinence. To make an appointment at the Waldbaum Center, call 516-627-5348 or 516-734-8500.

Dr. Waldbaum, who also serves as the North Shore-LIJ Health System’s vice president of physician relations, was North Shore University Hospital’s (NSUH) first chairman of urology and served as director of urology for more than 30 years. He is the former president of Urology Associates PC in Manhasset, past president of the medical board at NSUH, a member of the American Urological Association (AUA) Board of Directors, vice president of the AUA Foundation, and chairman of the Kidney and Urology Foundation of America’s Urology Board. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgery, the International College of Urology and the Society of Pediatric Urology. He is the recipient of the AUA’s John K. Lattimer Award and Russell W. Lavengood Distinguished Service Award. Dr. Waldbaum earned his medical degree from the Columbia University of Physicians and Surgeons, and completed his residency in surgery at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center and his urology residency at Cornell University Medical Center/New York Hospital.

The Smith Institute is headed by Louis Kavoussi, MD, the chairman of urology at the North Shore-LIJ Health System, who was recruited after a national search in 2005 from Johns Hopkins Medical Center, where he was vice chairman and professor of urology for 12 years. Dr. Kavoussi was the world’s first surgeon to remove a kidney laparoscopically in 1990. Established in 2007 at 450 Lakeville Road in Lake Success, the Smith Institute has set the global standard for treating urological diseases, pioneering minimally invasive approaches, innovative research and novel educational curricula. Smith Institute physicians are world leaders in minimally invasive approaches in treating all cancers. They have helped define and shape the modern techniques of kidney stone surgery, laparoscopic kidney removal for cancer, as well as kidney donation.

Several of those same urologists will be staffing the Smith Institute’s Waldbaum Center in Manhasset, NY, including:

• Dr. Steckel, vice chairman of urology at North Shore University Hospital, who joined the Smith Institute in 2007. He has performed more than 1,500 radical prostatectomies during his career and was instrumental in the development of an artificial bladder, called a “neobladder,” that provides bladder cancer patients with a superior quality of life by eliminating the need for an external device for storing bodily waste. Also, his interest in renal conservation surgery helps preserve the normal kidney while the cancerous tumor is safely and completely removed. He received his undergraduate degree from Harvard University and earned his medical degree at Cornell University Medical College. He completed his general surgery internship and urology residency at New York Hospital. He continued his post-residency training in urologic oncology at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) as a Ferdinand C. Valentine scholar. From UCLA, he joined the voluntary faculty at North Shore University Hospital with Dr. Waldbaum and served as the director of urologic oncology. Dr. Steckel’s primary urologic oncology interests include the diagnosis and treatment of malignancies of the prostate, bladder, kidney, ureter, testis, adrenal and penis. Dr Steckel was named “physician of the year” by the Long Island Chapter of the American Cancer Society in 2006 and was awarded the prestigious John Lattimer Medal from the Kidney and Urology Foundation earlier this year.
• Dr. Schwartz, who joined the Smith Institute after completing his fellowship in laparoscopy and minimally invasive surgery at NSUH and Long Island Jewish Medical Center, specializes in laparoscopic and robotic surgery. His areas of interest include urologic cancers, benign kidney and prostate disease and renal stones. Dr. Schwartz earned his medical degree from Brown University, and completed his urology residency training at New York Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Medical College of Cornell University and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He has published numerous peer-reviewed articles on kidney, bladder and prostate cancer, including such leading journals as Cancer, the Journal of Urology, Urology, Annals of Surgery and Journal of Biological Chemistry. 
• Dr. Richstone, an expert in laparoscopic surgery, robotic prostatectomy and cystectomy, urologic cancers and urinary obstruction, is internationally recognized in Laparoendoscopic Single Site (LESS) surgery, providing nearly scarless surgical intervention.  He is widely published in leading peer-reviewed journals, including Cancer, the Journal of Urology, Urology, Annals of Surgery, the Journal of Endourology and Cell.  He completed his medical school and residency at New York Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Medical College of Cornell University and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.  He then completed his fellowship in laparoscopy, robotic surgery and minimally invasive surgery with Dr. Kavoussi. 
• Dr. Firoozi, the newest addition to the Smith Institute, is scheduled to join the clinical practice in August 2010.  He received his fellowship training at the prestigious Cleveland Clinic Foundation, with specialization in male and female voiding dysfunction, pelvic organ prolapse, incontinence, over-active bladder and neuro-urology -- one of few fellowships formally recognized by both the American Board of Urology and American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Dr. Firoozi is an expert in laparoscopic and robotic surgery for pelvic floor reconstruction. His clinical interests include urinary incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse, complex reconstruction of the lower urinary tract, and management of complications of vaginal and lower urinary tract surgery.

In addition to the new office in Manhasset, the Smith Institute has satellite centers in Garden City, Flushing and Forest Hills.

To find out more about the Smith Institute, go to: www.smithinstituteforurology.com

Media Contact:
Terry Lynam
516-465-2640/2600
tlynam@nshs.edu